MILLER’S TIME
Striker signs new deal to extend stay
KENNY MILLER last night extended his stay at Rangers for a further year and set his sights on an improved title challenge to Celtic next season.
Sportsmail revealed earlier this week that a new deal was being prepared for the 37-year-old and, after signing the contract yesterday, he declared: ‘I’m delighted. I want to get my head down and work over the last five games of the season and look to a far more competitive campaign next year.
‘I came back here to get us back to the top of Scottish football, which we have not achieved. I still want to win the league back. It’s got to be the ultimate goal.
‘We’re a long way off that. We’ve seen that this season with the gap not just to Celtic but we’re behind Aberdeen at the moment.
‘It is important that we finish the season strongly. There will obviously be comings and goings in the summer and it is important that the guys coming in are the right calibre who can take us to that level where we are going to be more competitive.’
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha added: ‘It is fantastic for everyone at the club that Kenny has agreed to stay with us for another year.’
WHEN Kenny Miller admitted earlier this month that he feared his Rangers career was at an end, the disappointment in his voice was clear. Last night, as he signed the deal that keeps him at Ibrox for a further year, it was the glint in his eyes which was most telling.
Miller has been one of the few Rangers players to get anywhere near pass marks this season in a campaign that started with such optimism but quickly tailed off into recrimination and rancour.
He has had to lead when so many around him seemed incapable of following.
He had to try to inspire when the leadership of the floundering Mark Warburton was making the fans restless and critical. And then, when the new man Pedro Caixinha came in, had to show patience and understanding when the contract extension he craved was not immediately forthcoming.
Last night all that changed. The ink was barely dry on his new deal and Miller was talking of helping the team challenge Celtic next season, while also sending a message to those who hold the purse strings at the club that serious investment in the playing squad is needed for that ambition to be achieved.
‘I’m delighted,’ said Miller. ‘It took a little longer than I would have hoped but, with all that has gone in the last few months with the new manager coming in and assessing his squad, I am delighted to get it signed.
‘I want to look forward to the last few games of the season and look towards a better, more competitive campaign next season.’
Asked of his concerns that a new deal may not be forthcoming, Miller added: ‘When a new manager comes in everybody’s future starts to get thrown into doubt — whether you’ve got a contract or not.
‘It definitely went through my mind the longer it went on. I’ve never really been in a situation where my future’s not been decided. It was something new for me but I was confident the manager would see the work I do every day in training, the commitment to the cause and also the performances since he came in.
‘I’ve maintained a decent level of performance and good consistency.
‘I was always hopeful I would stay. I’m over the moon and want to get my head down and work over the last five games of the season and look to a more competitive campaign next year.’
Miller looked towards next term with the kind of hungry glare normally reserved for an opportunity in the box. The pain at being so far off the pace, not only to Celtic but also to Aberdeen, clearly rankles.
‘I came back here to get promoted initially which we achieved,’ said the 37-year-old striker, ‘and to get us back to the top of Scottish football which we have not achieved. I still want to win the league back. It’s got to be the ultimate goal.
‘We’re a long way off, we’ve seen that this season with the gap not just to Celtic but we’re behind Aberdeen at the moment. With five games to go we’re nine points back so it’s important we finish the season strongly.
‘There will be comings and goings no doubt in the summer and it is important that the guys coming in are the right calibre, who can take us to that level where we are going to be more competitive. Because, for me, it is a strange situation when we are playing catch-up so far back.
‘No cup final to look forward to, well back in the league but, again, it’s a process I touched on last week ... that any Rangers fan is frustrated, the players are frustrated, so are the staff and board members frustrated because it is a position we are not used to being in as a football club.
‘But we still have to look at the steps we have taken over the last five years. We’re going to have achieved European football this season which is another step forward, so we have got to look at the positives while still maintaining and knowing that we must be more competitive and putting up a challenge next year.
‘I’ve got a personal pride in what I do. I don’t want to be playing second fiddle, so recruitment will be key.
‘Get characters in who have got that mind set that are not going to be willing to settle for second best.
‘The lads need help. They need signings who are going to drive on the lads who are already here while improving the quality of the squad.
‘We have to get back challenging — and it will be tough. Every team always looks to strengthen. Celtic will strengthen, Aberdeen and Hearts will strengthen. So it is important we get the right players.’
The experience Miller brings will be key to achieving those ambitions.
His influence is felt as much off the park as on it as he strives to lead by example.
Only last week, Celtic legend Davie Hay talked of him as being the only Rangers player in a disappointing semi-final performance to come anywhere close to pass marks.
‘It is a mindset for me,’ Miller told Rangers TV. ‘I train as hard as I can every day. I think I’ve missed one day’s training this year with the team so it is just trying to keep the mind focused on the job at hand.
‘I want to play as long as I can and, as long as I feel I am contributing the way I have done over the last few seasons, then I’ll be more than happy to carry on.’