Rangers are heading for another derby day demolition...

[ian1964 10,724]

THE points that his strike secured were the priority for Kenny Miller. But it was a moment that would have meant that bit more for the striker.

 

It was a goal befitting of the achievement as he brought up his 100 for Rangers with the winner in Inverness. He has scored few better in Light Blue.

 

Goals against Dundee and Motherwell earlier in the campaign had taken Miller to the brink of clinching his place amongst the Ibrox centurions.

 

On Friday night, he peeled away at the back post, connected with Lee Wallace’s cross and rifled the ball beyond Owain Fon Williams. His name was added to an illustrious list.

 

Miller is the 16th player to net 100 post-War goals for Rangers and Gers legend Willie Johnston, who hit 125 during his 18-year Ibrox career, is pleased to see the striker join a unique club.

 

“It is a bit harder to do it now and players move on quicker these days,” he told SportTimes. “It was some goal that Kenny scored to get his 100th and an important one as well.

 

“He has had a great career and he is a good professional. He has looked after himself and he has got his rewards out of the game.

 

“He is a goal scorer and he has scored everywhere he has went and he has done very well for Rangers. It is the hardest part of the game.

 

“I wanted to play through the middle but they stuck me outside left! I would have scored a lot more goals for Rangers.

 

“It is a great achievement for anyone and I am pleased for Kenny. Hopefully he can go on for a while yet and scores plenty more for the club.”

 

Miller may be in the twilight of his career but he remains an integral part of the Rangers forward line as he continues to roll back the years at Ibrox.

 

He has made 14 appearances for Mark Warburton’s side this term and could be handed another start against Celtic at Hampden on Sunday.

 

Miller is closing in on his 37th birthday, but Johnston believes age is no barrier to his continued success for Rangers.

 

He said: “If he has looked after himself, which he clearly has, then there is no doubt that he can keep playing.

 

“If he watches himself, he has not got a weight problem, I don’t think he smokes or drinks. He has looked after himself so he can play for another couple of seasons yet.

 

“It is brilliant to have someone like Kenny in the dressing room. He has been a great professional all through his career and I think the lads there will look up to him because of what he has done in his career.

 

“He can play for another couple of seasons no problem and there are plenty of goals left in him yet I am sure.”

 

After netting the decisive goal in the Highlands to earn Rangers a crucial Premiership win, Miller will now look to become a Hampden hero this weekend.

 

The 5-1 defeat to Celtic last month has been the lowest point of a disappointing campaign to date for Warburton’s side as their title dreams have diminished.

 

A place in the Betfred Cup final is stake and Johnston hopes the Ibrox squad don’t dwell on their derby day demolition when they head to the National Stadium.

 

He said: “It will be hard for Rangers to come back from the 5-1 game. But I watched it and I don’t think there should have been four goals of a difference. They lost bad goals and had a man sent off.

 

“It will be a typical Old Firm game and anything can happen. I don’t think it will be 5-1, put it that way.

 

“Rangers will hope that they can beat Celtic and that will be them back on track. It will be a hard game for them but it can go any way on the day.

 

“Every game is different so they should forget the 5-1 game. They will talk about it and go over it but once they get on the park you forget all about it.

 

“They want to beat Celtic to get to the final, not because of what happened last time.”

 

With a seven point deficit to make up already this season, it is the cup competitions that appear to give Rangers their best chances of silverware in the coming months.

 

Boss Warburton has been frustrated with some of the coverage that his side have received as they have won just four of their first nine Premiership outings.

 

The Scottish Cup win over Celtic last term was the highlight of the campaign for the Gers and a repeat on Sunday would be more than welcome for Warburton.

 

Johnston said: “He is finding out what it is like to be the manager at Rangers and you learn every time you play Celtic.

 

“I don’t think he would have experienced an atmosphere like the one at Parkhead that day before. It doesn’t matter where you play them, the atmosphere is unbelievable and the pressure on the players is huge.

 

“It is how they handle it on the day and they have to make sure they don’t get sent off or do anything stupid. Just concentrate on playing football and hopefully they can win the game.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/14809303.Willie_Johnston__There_is_plenty_more_to_come_from_Kenny_Miller_after_he_joined_the_Rangers_100_club/

[JFK-1 1,693]

Well now we have the first part of my desired scenario for the lead up to this game, they weren't just beaten by Monchengladbach they were totally outplayed and could easily have been beaten by more.

[Whosthedado 1,685]

We need to go and have a go at them. They are there for the taking :cheers:

[ian1964 10,724]

Well now we have the first part of my desired scenario for the lead up to this game, they weren't just beaten by Monchengladbach they were totally outplayed and could easily have been beaten by more.

 

Aye!,we just need to play like the Germans!

[JFK-1 1,693]

Aye!,we just need to play like the Germans!

 

You would have to guess Warburton and Weir and in fact the entire team were watching this and taking notes.

[JFK-1 1,693]

Wonder who Joey was betting on.

[Barebear 37]

Over confidence may be their downfall this particular time. I'm glad we get another run at them in this cup before we try again in the league. I'm sure we'll see a closing of the 'gap' in this game, and then the league game at Ibrox will take care of itself. Put it this way, if we're not ready yet, then I'd rather the cup was where we discovered that. It's shaping up to be an interesting season and I'm sure they'll drop SPFL points after getting a scudding in Germany and Manchester where they need to push the boat out.

[barca72 440]

I think their biggest problem is once again at CH. Toure is strong in the tackle and reasonable in the air but he seems to have a problem when he's turned and at the same time is pressured.

This opens the door for Kranjcar to chip balls over him for Windass or Forrester to run on to.

Also, Halliday has to pressure Brown and/or Bitton in midfield.

They are not that good and the door for us is at least half-open.

[JFK-1 1,693]

The CL defeat in a way can make this match even more significant. They had thoroughly convinced themselves that a win over Gladbach was a foregone conclusion with the only question being by how many goals. They had convinced themselves that Rodgers was a wizard and that not only would they beat Gladbach in Glasgow they would probably beat them in Germany too.

 

The actual outcome when they were not just beaten but totally outplayed by the Germans is a serious downer for them and if we can follow that up with another win over them on Sunday who knows. It could prove to be a key turning point that could put their heads down even further. It might possibly boil down to who has the most iffy defence on the day us or them.

 

If it comes to who wants it most I think our guys could edge them. Might be a first start against them for Waghorn who replaced Miller on the 63rd minute in the last game and we were actually pressing after his introduction but then Senderos had a brainstorm and it all fell apart leaving us outnumbered and with no CB's

[der Berliner 3,747]

They will be smarting and probably want to let out their steam on us. It may very well coe down to which team defends better ... again. And whether our attackers finally find their scoring form again. Pace and precision is the name of the game and in Kranjcar we have someone who can pick out Holt and Co.. Last time around, Kranjcar was more involved in getting the ball back than anything else.