VICTORY ONLY BRINGS RELIEF
Must get better is the verdict of Miller
ACROSS the country Rangers are being watched. By people who cling to a belief they can challenge for the title. And people who live for the fall.
For the Rangers crisis junkies forged in the fallout from 2012, the next fix of Ibrox turmoil can’t come soon enough.
They could all take something from the 2-1 win in Dundee.
Buoyed by a nervous, inept firsthalf display from the home team, Rangers scored two and should have scored another. The defensive failings which earned Hamilton a point last weekend returned to the fore before the interval.
Deal with corners at Parkhead and Pittodrie as they did Mark O’Hara’s headed goal on the stroke of half-time and the crisis crew will be high as kites.
To those clinging to hopes of another Ibrox collapse, the secondhalf performance was footballing methadone. Kenny Miller described it — accurately — as panicked.
Unbeaten at Dens Park since 1992, however, the visitors made it to the finish line. Victory brought relief rather than joy but points tallies don’t always reflect performances.
‘If we hadn’t won, then a lot of things would have been levelled at us in terms of challenging for the league,’ admitted second goalscorer Miller.
‘For me, all week I was thinking: “We need to win, we need to win”. We’ve done it.
‘We’re not too happy with the way we went about the job in the second half but we’re delighted with the three points.
‘We all appreciated the fact we were disappointed in the result against Hamilton and to start the league without winning in two would have been a disaster for me.
‘We got the three points and went down the road happyish in terms of the result but performance-wise we know we can be better.
‘It’s a good sign that we won without being at our best. I felt if we had been 3-0 up in the first half then that would have been a fair reflection.’
When these teams met in the Scottish Cup quarter-final, Harry Forrester’s early goal proved critical. So it was here.
He was tardy this time. The strike took 14 minutes rather than 14 seconds, hooking the ball high into the net after Dundee’s awful attempts to deal with a Barrie McKay incursion into the area.
Allowing Rangers — and an impressive Jordan Rossiter — the run of midfield, the Dark Blues were passive.
A second goal was a matter of when and not if.
It came in 39 minutes when McKay clipped a ball down the left flank for captain Lee Wallace to chase.
Miller had time to compose himself before lashing the ball high into the net from 16 yards.
The veteran striker had a glorious chance to put the game beyond doubt, Scott Bain diving at his feet as he raced through on goal.
Unexpectedly, Dundee — shorn of Greg Stewart’s strike talents after his £500,000 sale to Birmingham — took quick advantage.
A Danny Williams corner was headed into the net unencumbered by O’Hara, an elegant defender turned midfielder. Dundee’s best player, Paul Hartley looks to have pulled off a masterstroke.
‘It was disappointing to concede from a set-play and that affected us,’ admitted Miller. ‘I’ve been here long enough to know the scrutiny you are under every week is like nowhere else in the world.
‘We need to recognise that and make sure we learn from the mistakes — of the Hamilton game and also the Dundee game.’
Weak refereeing helped Rangers. Forrester was remarkably fortunate to escape a red card.
Booked for a rash challenge, further lunges at Darren O’Dea and Michael Duffy should have produced another yellow. Wisely, Mark Warburton took off the opening goalscorer before he was sent off.
A first Premiership victory since 2012 — leaving the newco debate to those who still care — ought to have been a source of more satisfaction than this.
With Warburton seeking to add Preston striker Joe Garner and another defender before the window closes, however, Miller believes the team needs time to settle. To find their stride in the top division. That time is the one commodity Rangers and Celtic never get barely needs saying.
‘Look at the amount of players we’ve signed in the last two years,’ said Miller. ‘It’s a lot of guys to come in and really hit the ground running.
‘Last year we played in the second tier and we’ve made the step up with another nine new faces, with one or two more potentially coming in.
‘It’s a lot of lads to integrate into a dressing room. A lot of personalities to get used to. But these lads have also got to get used to the way we want to play.
‘The team will get stronger and better as the season goes on — like it did last season.
‘We didn’t play our usual style and still won. We didn’t hit the heights in the second half. We managed to grind out a result.
‘We should have been more up and when I went through just before they scored, I should have done better.
‘If I’d scored they probably wouldn’t have scored their goal and we’d have gone in at half-time 3-0 up — and the second half would have been different.
‘But their goal definitely affected us and there is no doubt we were hanging on towards the end.
‘There was a bit of panic. Everyone knew what was at stake and that it was really important we won.
‘There were wee things that needed sorted out at the start of last season, which we did, and the same applies this season with a lot of new faces.
‘But it’s a good sign that we weren’t at our best and still left a tough place with three points.’