Time to turn the jeers into cheers

Fans will give McCulloch reception he deserves on Ibrox return, says Miller

THE jarring sound of jeering preceded Lee McCulloch’s exit from Ibrox. Kenny Miller is convinced, however, that his return tomorrow will deliver a far warmer embrace.

Kilmarnock’s ongoing search for Gary Locke’s replacement means McCulloch will be in interim charge of the Ayrshire side for the Scottish Cup fifth-round tie.

Fate may work in mysterious ways. But this is a scenario the 37- year- old could never have envisaged when signing a playercoach deal at Rugby Park last summer.

That agreement ensured a swift return to football for McCulloch after he was among 11 players released by Rangers following the failure to win promotion.

His final appearance at Ibrox came in a 2-2 draw against Falkirk last April. At fault for the visitors’ second goal, McCulloch was booed by a section of the home crowd.

After eight years of service and so much success at the club he grew up supporting, it was an unsuitably ignominious end.

Miller was a team-mate that day. And for many more before it. He fully expects happier times to be at the forefront of supporters’ minds when McCulloch steps into the away technical area for the first time.

‘It was an accumulation of things that were going on last year,’ said Miller, reflecting on the frustration vented towards his old colleague.

‘There is no doubt he will get a good reception and he deserves it. He was here a long time, he captained the club and had a few successful years here, so I am sure the fans appreciate that.

‘It wasn’t a great way to finish for any of the lads that left the club last season. We all know that was a poor campaign by Rangers’ standards and anyone who left at the end of the season won’t be happy with how they left.

‘With Jig (McCulloch) having been through the successful years and stayed with the club through the relegation to the bottom l e ague and t hen winning the leagues, I am sure he probably envisaged leaving the club on a far higher note.

‘It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t great for any of us. Guys left and guys are still here. You look back at last year and want to right that wrong.’

McCulloch always seemed destined to remain in the game once his playing days were finally at an end. That mindset is replicated in Miller.

The striker has already taken his f i rst tentative steps in coaching with Ra ng e r s ’ Under-20s, although clearly not at the expense of his on-field impact, after yesterday collecting the Ladbrokes Championship Player of the Month award for January.

‘Jig has put the work in over the last five or six years to get all the qualifications that he needs,’ said Miller. ‘He always knew he wanted to go into coaching or management but it has maybe been thrust into his lap a bit earlier than he hoped.

‘These things happen and you have to deal with it. I am sure he will do great. He has been on all the courses, he knows what it is about and he is as prepared as he can be.

‘I have known Jig for a long time. I spoke to him a lot about this kind of stuff and you could tell he was passionate about going into the next level after he finished.

‘Even the six, seven months he has had as an assistant to Lockey will have given him an insight into what the game is like on the other side of the fence.’

It is, though, what the game is like at Rangers that most occupies Miller. Promotion may be the over-riding priority, but that would not prevent an inquest should the Scottish Cup ambitions of Mark Warburton’s side come to an end against a side currently fighting to retain their Premiership status.

The veteran front man knows there is no point in hiding from that. Expectations are there to be dealt with and Miller sees no reason why Rangers cannot go all the way in the tournament.

‘Why can we not win the Cup? We’re a good team. We’ve got some fantastic players,’ he argued.

‘To win a cup, you’re probably going to need a little bit of luck along the way, whether it be in the draw or in an actual game, but we want to win it.

‘We want to be as a successful as we can, which means winning the Championship, winning t he Petrofac ( Training Cup) and winning the Scottish Cup as well. To do that, we’re going to have to get past Killie on Saturday. That’s the first step.’

It is also the first meeting with top-flight opposition since St Johnstone recorded a 3-1 League Cup victory at Ibrox back in September. Miller, though, rejects the idea that these encounters provide the best gauge of progress.

‘If we beat Kilmarnock, does that prove that we can then beat St Johnstone?’ he said. ‘It’s a oneoff game, a game that we are looking to win and progress in the Cup.

‘Since that (St Johnstone) game, we have made changes to the way we play ever so slightly, which seems to make us a little bit more secure, guarding us against counter- attacks. It’s a different team. That was a couple of months into the season with a new team.

‘It was always going to get brought up because it was this team’s first against Premiership opposition. But we could have lost that game whether we were in the Championship or the top tier.’