Earning his wings
Miller declares Oduwa will be steeled by tough tackling Rangers veteran recalls his days as a ‘whippersnapper’
IN his hunt for first-team football, the 19-year-old Kenny Miller had a choice. He could either mull around Hibernian, playing for the Under-21’s in a league devoid of crowds meaning or competitive edge, or he could accept the certainty of a kicking by going on loan to Stenhousemuir in Scotland’s rough, agricultural Third Division. He opted for the kicking. ‘For me, playing any kind of level of first-team football is better than playing for the youth teams or reserves,’ said Miller, now the old head of the Ibrox dressing room.
‘I went to Stenhousemuir and played in the Third Division and, in terms of learning, I came on leaps and bounds by playing first-team football.’
Under the protective veil of Terry Christie’s renowned duffel coat, Miller scored 10 goals in 13 games.
‘We ended up getting promoted in my season at Stenhousemuir,’ he recalled. ‘I played my part in it and it was my first taste of it.
‘I had a wee taste of first-team football with Hibs, but I was back in the reserves and I wanted to play in the first-team. Fortunately, I got the chance to do it with Terry.’
All of this is pertinent. It has a point.
This week the value of Nathan Oduwa’s loan spell with Rangers in the Scottish Championship has been called into question.
A Tottenham representative was in the Bill Struth stand at Ibrox when Livingston’s Kieran Gibbons slid in — studs high — on the winger in the first minute of the match.
The tackle went unpunished by referee Andrew Dallas, but there were plenty more to follow.
Mark Warburton is dismissive of the idea Spurs might think twice about the value of the loan deal.
At Stenhousemuir, Miller took his share of kicks and felt better for it. Learning in the school of hard knocks was always preferable to six months of academy torpor.
‘I wasn’t quite the flair player that Nathan is but, at that time, I was the young whippersnapper and players tried to give me the full treatment,’ Miller said. ‘But that’s part and parcel of growing up and learning your trade.
‘A few of them were handing it out and I was a young lad built like a toothpick, just buzzing around and a few senior pros were trying to put me in my place. It was all part of becoming the player I am.’
Criticised for a piece of skill which brought accusations of ‘showboating’ against Alloa early in his Rangers loan spell, Oduwa has f ound himself at the heart of another storm. Scottish football, you sense, has been a shock to the system.
‘I think it was initially,’ Miller agreed. ‘I think Nathan was shocked at the attention his “rainbow-flick” received in his first game at Alloa. But the manager and Davie (Weir) are trying to explain to him that he’s in the goldfish bowl of Glasgow and that’s the kind of attention that this club receives.
‘He’s part of Rangers now and needs to behave accordingly. The manager has said we don’t want to take that part of his game away, but I think he got a shock at Alloa.
‘ Nathan’s a good lad and he doesn’t moan too much about the treatment he receives. It doesn’t s t op him going at his fullback t he next time.’
The oldest head in the Rangers dressing room by some distance, Miller has tried to lead by example. When he says he now fills the role once performed by assistant manager David Weir — who played f or Rangers until he was 40 — he is only half-joking.
‘I am well ahead of everybody,’ laughed 35-year- old Miller. ‘Davie was similar when he was here, he had a good few years on us. Shielsy (Dean Shiels) is 30, so there is a bit of a gap there. I am enjoying the season so far. Would I like a bit more game-time? Of course I would. But I am thoroughly enjoying the way things are going at the moment.’
So much so that he would welcome the chance to extend his contract. In his third spell at Ibrox, Miller’s c urr e nt deal lapses next summer. Both parties are open to talks which could see the former Scotland striker back in the Premiership next season.
‘I would love to talk,’ Miller admitted. ‘There is nowhere else I would rather be. I would love to finish my career here. Whether that happens or not, we will have to wait and see. I feel I have a job to do this year to make sure we get back to the top flight. It then becomes a new target, which is back to taking the league title again.
‘In the last couple of months, I have been doi ng some coaching with Ian Durrant and the Under-20s, which I’ve enjoyed.
‘ I have worked with lots of managers in my career and you always take the positives and the negatives out of every one.
‘There are lots of things I’m learning under the manager and a lot of good stuff that I will definitely be implementing when my time comes.’ That time may not be just yet. Miller remains fit and valuable and Warburton is open to the idea of an extension. ‘At 35 years old, Kenny sets a fantastic example,’ Warburton said. ‘He has been there and done it. For the young players, he is magnificent.’
Asked when he would like to begin talks, the Englishman said: ‘Now. David Weir came here at 35, 36. He came here for three months initially and, five years later, he left with a sackful of trophies.
‘For Kenny to see David, it is an important link. He looks after himself. You look at his shape, body fat, fitness levels — they are all
fantastic right across the board.’