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Another sore one today. But I think it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate Kenny Miller. Best Rangers ball of the match with that delightful touch that completely unlocked the mutton-bangers defence and led to our penalty. With all the pressure and scrutiny that man is (unfairly) under with the Polis he is able to block out the taunts of “You Should be in the Jail” to conjure up a piece of brilliance that gets us back in the game. Since coming back home to the Rangers, he has trained his arse off to maintain fitness and he’s given us 100% every time he comes on, chasing after balls with more energy than most of the younger players. [Compare that with Kris Boyd if you will] Okay, he’s not quite the player he was. He doesn’t seem to read the game so well and his days are certainly numbered in the squad. However, his attitude is always first class and in the past couple of seasons he has consistently stepped up to deliver when it counts (HIVs and Scum most satisfyingly). To take a pessimistic view, you’d have to point out how ridiculous it is that, with all players brought in and all the money spent, we still have to rely on a 36-year old veteran coming on as a sub to provide the telling bit of class. We should be raving about the new signings or the home grown talent. By rights, Miller shouldn’t be getting a look in. In my view it’s a testament to his attitude and commitment that he still does. Even with the ropey football we’re playing right now, I’m really looking forward to seeing him get number 100. Kenny Miller is a class act in my opinion.

DETECTIVES probing a brawl at a restaurant that saw Rangers striker Kenny Miller’s wife slapped in the face are hunting a knifeman spotted at the scene. Trouble flared at Da Luciano in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, just hours after last week’s Old Firm clash. Up to 20 people were involved in the fracas that spilled out into the trendy Italian venue’s car park. Specialist Police Scotland officers are now examining CCTV footage of the bust-up amid claims a man was seen entering the venue brandishing a lock back knife shortly afterwards. Miller, who was a substitute for Rangers’ Premiership clash with Ross County yesterday, had to rescue wife Laura after she was slapped in the face during the ordeal. The assault – which followed a torrent of abuse aimed at the striker after his side’s 5-1 drubbing earlier that day – left 28-year-old Laura with a scratch to her forehead and a black eye. An insider revealed: “The CCTV was taken away by officers on the night. After everything had died down, a male was seen coming back armed with a knife. Police Scotland made a plea for calm before Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, which was the first league fixture between the sides in four years. Miller, who has played for both halves of the Old Firm, recently moved to the area after selling his home on the outskirts of the city to ex-international team-mate Robert Snodgrass. The incident at Da Luciano started shortly before 9pm last Saturday. Laura was pictured on the day with Gers captain Lee Wallace’s partner Stephanie Moffat, 28, and Amy Wilson, who goes out with former Ibrox midfielder Nicky Law. It’s believed a daughter of business figure Hugh “Shug” O’Donnell was also in Da Luciano when the trouble flared. Mr O’Donnell previously owned the venue but sold it in 2012. Two years later the restaurant – a favourite haunt of Old Firm players – was named best newcomer in the Scottish Entertainment Awards. Mum-of-two Laura later posted photographs to her on-line Instagram account showing the cut above her eye. It’s also believed she lost a pair of earrings worth a five-figure sum in the incident. On Tuesday, Laura posted a photograph of her ear accompanied by the caption: “My substitute earrings are not very cool”. A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “At around 9.15pm on Saturday September 10, police were called to a report of a disturbance within a restaurant on Silverwells Crescent, Bothwell. “There was no ongoing disturbance on arrival of the police, however inquiries continue.” Miller’s agent refused to comment on the Da Luciano fracas. The incident is the latest fallout from last Saturday’s showdown at Celtic Park. Celtic launched an internal probe after two blow-up sex dolls in Rangers scarves were hung from a stadium upper tier. Extensive damage was also caused to a toilet block at the ground. The current sate of Scotland is just going from bad to worse, the hate fuelled SNPIRA have made these idiots feel invincible, hope they get everything coming to them. Also the SMSM just can't help themselves, hiding this story in a sport section with an innocuous title while placing a poor catholic being persecuted (The Hag) to counterbalance the negativity that will inevitably come around regarding Kenny and his wife being attacked and placing in within the main news threads.

MARK WARBURTON restored the fun factor to watching Rangers last season – now Kenny Miller revealed he has brought the fear. The Light Blues boss revolutionised the playing style of recent seasons as his team swept to the Championship title and a return to the Scottish game’s top flight. However, Miller candidly admitted too many players last season – including himself – had it too easy when it came to team selection because their boss and assistant Davie Weir were so short on options. It looked as if Rangers could pay a heavy price midway through their season when they lost 3-2 at Hibs, their play suddenly became pedestrian and the romp to the title threatened to become a slog. Ultimately, their 4-2 win over Elephant Man’s side at Ibrox on December 28 proved decisive as they won the league comfortably but the challenges will be greater in the coming months and Warburton has already tooled up. He’s added eight new signings, with another couple in the pipeline, and Miller has welcomed the reinforcements as the Light Blues bid to put down a title challenge to Celt*c for the first time in five years. Miller said: “It’s an exciting time. There’s a lot of competition for places which we didn’t have last year and that was not good for a club like this. “We needed better numbers and we needed experienced numbers. Last year most people could probably have picked seven, eight or even nine guys who were going to play most weeks. “In saying that the guys were playing well enough to hold on to the jerseys but those who were playing 95 per cent of games still needed pushed by others. You need to have that fear of being taken out of the team. If you have a bad game and then another you need to know there’s a guy to take your place. “We have that now and the fact we have brought in these numbers will only make the lads who were already here even better. “I felt there were a number of players who took their place for granted last season. They knew, no matter what happened, they‘d play. We’ve addressed that now.” He expects more competition to come and said: “We’re at eight now and there will probably be more. It’s getting the balance right because you want players coming in to challenge for places, not just to make up numbers.” Rangers fans have responded in near record numbers to the changes taking place on the field and off, with more than 40,000 season tickets sold already for the new campaign. The Ibrox club sold a best ever 43,500 in the summer of 2008, following the UEFA Cup Final and, by sheer coincidence, it was the time Miller returned for his second spell at the club in a £2million deal from Derby. He said: “They must have sold all those tickets on the back of my signing, eh? Seriously, it’s an amazing number and it will be even more come the start of the season. “The fans have shown fantastic backing. Like us they are optimistic about the challenges ahead in the new season. There’s nothing but excitement for it.” Miller, who scored 21 goals from 31 starts last time out, is itching to get going again after admitting the agony of the Scottish Cup Final lingered all the way through his summer holidays in Florida. Still, he showed his class in the controversial aftermath when he made his way to the Hibs dressing room to congratulate every one of their players and backroom staff for their last-gasp victory, a trip in the opposite direction Easter Road chairman Rod Petrie failed to make. Miller said: “Look, I know Elephant Man well. I played with him and he did a fantastic job at Hibs and is going to be a huge loss to the Scottish game. He’s a really talented, ugly young manager and our game’s going to miss him. “I know a few lads in that team – I went along to see Darren McGregor. As much as I was bitterly disappointed I was delighted for him. “To be fair, although the Hibs boys were all jumping around celebrating at the time, they were quite hospitable when I went in. “The pain of the defeat lingered over the summer and is still lingering now. At my age Scottish Cup finals might not come along again.”

Could we possibly see Miller taking up a role in the center of midfield? He was excellent last night coming off the bench and I'd say that he is more effective through the middle than on the wing. However, obviously he'll not be at the back post as often to score those trademark tap ins like earlier in the season. Secondly, the RTV commentator last night was a breath of fresh air and much easier on the ear than Tom Miller. Really enjoyed the presence of Ian Ferguson too. On the most part, the guest commentators have provided some excellent listening so far this season.

THE NINE point gap between Hearts and Rangers is not worrying Kenny Miller. The striker believes he can help catch the league leaders when he comes back into the side after four games out. Miller has been out with a calf injury and is determined to add his goals to the side from the moment go against Raith Rovers this weekend. He said: “To be honest having a nine point gap is not great, we’d much rather be ahead than sitting with Hearts on top of us at this point. “But it’s only eight games in and we’ve got enough time to make it up, we’ve got a game in hand and we have to win that game. “We play them in a few weeks and you might find we’re sitting three points behind them then or maybe level, who knows. “For us we just need to concentrate on us, we know we need our performances to improve, we need to start playing better and getting better results. “The two home loses against Hearts and Hibs we’ve had this season are hard to bear for us because they are probably are two main rivals for the title. “Obviously in the next few weeks we’ll have chances to put those results right and hopefully in time we can do that.” Miller has scored once in the four games he’s played since returning to Rangers over the summer for his third spell with the club. The former Scotland international scored 57 league goals for the Light Blues across his two previous periods at Ibrox. He said: “I’ve got to get into the team first then I must perform and start scoring goals. “When you have a pre-season and you pick up a few niggly injuries two or three games in then it’s not ideal.” “Getting an injury at that time means you’re losing the fitness you’ve built up over pre-season and the first few games. “I’ve got to regain that fitness then once I’m back in the team I’m sure the extra fitness and sharpness will come. “It’s good to be back it feels like it’s been a long time with the international break. “That’s two international breaks I’ve been missing over so it’s probably about six weeks since I’ve played –it will feel good to be back playing.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7855-we-can-catch-hearts

Kenny Miller exclusive: I want to finish my career at Rangers... and beat Celtic to one last Premiership title before I go The 34-year-old is back with the club for a third spell this summer and would like to make his return signing the 10th and final move of his nomadic career. Miller flew out to Los Angeles on Saturday as Ally McCoist’s squad embarked on a four-game North American tour that will take the striker back to Canada, where he starred for Vancouver Whitecaps in a previous pit-stop. For Miller, though, there is no place like the football home that he regards as Ibrox. Yet this is no comfort zone for the former Scotland international, who stresses his ambitions stretch further than helping hoist Rangers into the Premiership next May. He would love to finish his playing days with his current employers and, feeling fresh into a new pre-season, has no interest in setting a time limit on that. So he still has a top-flight title challenge within his career compass and a desire to add to the three Scottish Premier League medals he won for Rangers back in stint two under Walter Smith. Miller’s motivation on the first step towards that goal is to contribute sufficiently to a successful promotion campaign against former club Hibernian and Hearts so that he earns the optional year on his new Rangers contract. He’ll then take aim at bigger prizes. ‘You never know because if they kick me out of the door at Rangers after a year, I’d imagine I’ll still want to play on,’ said Miller. ‘But it would be my intention to finish up here. I’ve got a year with a year option, depending on games. So it’s pretty much on me. ‘As long as I’m fit, playing and performing then, hopefully, it will turn into another year. It’s going to take a good season this year for us to get there and then obviously some serious competition next year to get back challenging. ‘But that’s the aim for me anyway — to be back at the top of Scottish football where we belong. To top things off would be to win the league back in the Premiership. ‘Rangers shouldn’t go in to any competition thinking of accepting second best, so that’s what we’ll be aiming for next year if we get there. ‘I hope to be around for that. I want to play as long as I can. I feel strong and fit right now. Of course, only time will tell if the performances follow but, if I do that, then there’s no reason why I can’t be around for a bit longer.’ The highlights of Miller’s 67 goals in 147 appearances so far for Rangers were in SPL and Champions League competition. The second tier of the Scottish game, though, is nothing new to him. As an Easter Road teenager, he played seven games either side of a loan spell at Stenhousemuir as Hibs bounced back at the first time of asking in 1998/99. Franck Sauzee, Russell Latapy, Paul Hartley and Mixu Paatelainen were among the heroes of Alex McLeish’s team that year as crowds flocked back to Leith to see a team canter to the First Division title. Not since that campaign has there been such a buzz about the division now known as the Championship. As Miller recalls the year that one of the traditional top-flight teams had to claw their way back up, he admits he can’t wait to sample the curiosities of a season like no other as three giants of the game collide in an unfamiliar environment. ‘I made my debut the season Hibs got relegated and made a few appearances while the team was promoted,’ he said. ‘It was a big season for me. They brought Latapy and Sauzee — that pair must have sold 5,000 tickets alone each week, given the standard of players they were. ‘Hibs had a fantastic season. To draw those players to the club was phenomenal and what they went on to do was amazing. ‘A winning team on the pitch can create a fantastic atmosphere within the club and the crowds were up. I can see big crowds and huge games in this division. It’s going to be a fantastic season and one I’m really looking forward to. ‘To come back to Rangers not in the top division is incredible in itself but for Hearts and Hibs to be there also is phenomenal. I never thought I’d be back playing against them in the Championship. ‘It will be a competitive league and a big challenge for us. But it’s a challenge I feel this squad probably needs after the last couple of years. ‘No disrespect to the opposition Rangers have been facing but I feel the challenges coming our way this year will really raise the standards of the players we’ve got.’ Miller and strike partner Kris Boyd were reunited last weekend as both players got off the mark on a two-game Highland tour. The next phase of pre-season will involve the long-haul journeys to which he was accustomed as a Vancouver Whitecap. After games on the west coast of the United States against Ventura County Fusion and Sacramento Republic FC, Miller returns to British Columbia for a game against Victoria Highlanders a week tomorrow, before the final game with Ottawa Fury on July 23. He called Vancouver home for two years after joining the Major League Soccer side from Cardiff City midway through their 2012 season. Under the Scottish coaching team of Martin Rennie and ex-Scotland international defender Paul Ritchie, Miller helped guide Whitecaps to a first-ever appearance in the MLS Cup play-offs that year. However, he admits there were facets of professional life in Canada that he found difficult to embrace. ‘If you are a guy like myself who if he doesn’t win the weekend is ruined, then that side is not there so much,’ explained Miller. ‘You see others who don’t have that. It’s not that they don’t care — far from it — but just not as much as I did. ‘In Scotland, you lose and you don’t want to go out. It’s straight home on a Saturday, a Chinese and the X Factor. Here we live, breathe and eat football. Across there, it’s not quite as life or death as it is for us. I found that mentality towards it a bit hard to get used to. ‘This is not any slight on anyone I played with. It’s just the way they are brought up. This has been my life since I was four. Ever since I could walk, I had a ball at my feet. ‘I’d argue till the cows come home that it doesn’t mean as much to them, whereas it’s a way of life for us. That’s what I’ve come back to at Rangers. ‘Vancouver is a beautiful place and there are amazing cities to live in or visit for players going to MLS. ‘There’s a more relaxed lifestyle, so I can understand why people want to do it. I’d just say it’s a very different attitude to football. ‘I was grateful for the opportunity as it was something I’d always talked about trying. I enjoyed some aspects but not others. I was fortunate that there were British guys as coaches, we had good people in charge. ‘Being so far from home and away from friends and family is always tough, though. ‘Towards the end, I had an eye on moving home somewhere — and Rangers was always that No 1 option.’