FOR most Rangers supporters “The Journey" the Ibrox club embarked on when they were consigned to the bottom division four years ago ended when they secured a place in the top flight at the second time of asking.
But not for Kenny Miller. The striker, now in an unprecedented third stint at Rangers, will only feel they have returned to where they were before when they are competing with, and defeating, their city rivals Celtic.
The first Ladbrokes Premiership match of the 2016/17 campaign between the two biggest clubs in Glasgow this afternoon is important in terms of who wins the Scottish title. For Miller, though, there is far greater significance.
Read more: Actions speak louder than words for veteran Old Firm striker Miller
“There were a lot of politics and reasons behind why what happened to us happened,” he said. “That’s always been the driving force behind everybody at this club. One, get it back on a stable footing. Two, get back into the top flight. Three, get challenging for major honours again.
“You look forward to games like this. These games just typify everything these clubs are about. It is all part of the process to achieve what we want, which is to be back in the top flight, having the Old Firm games, fighting for the title again, fighting against Celtic.”
Not even the most optimistic follower of Rangers expects their side to prevail at Celtic Park this afternoon and then go on and usurp their traditional adversaries as the dominant force in the country this season.
Despite strengthening extensively during the summer with the acquisition of the likes of Joey Barton, Clint Hill and Niko Kranjcar, the Championship winners have been hugely disappointing so far this season; two wins in four league games is hardly the sort of form to instil confidence in their fans.
Miller, who will play in his 19th Old Firm game if, as expected, he is selected up front, has been in a Rangers team whose chances has been dismissed before, including last season in the Scottish Cup semi-final, and is unconcerned by the negative predictions.
“It is like deja-vu and last year’s semi-final all over again,” he said. “I keep reading we aren’t playing well and they are better and have strengthened. They have strengthened and are better, but there is no doubt we have strengthened.
“Have we gelled and clicked the way we did last year? Not quite yet. Will we get there? There is no doubt we will get there. But we know we are Rangers and we should be winning.
“To incorporate that number of players into a style and system and to get us all to play it flawlessly as we did when we hit the ground running last season is harder.
“We go back to the semi-final last year. We were given no chance going into that game. I saw some dafties saying it will be 5-0 or 6-0. But I genuinely believed we would win that game. That was down to the way we play, the way they were playing, but more so I had full belief in what we were going to do.
“For me, the message to our team is we need to do what we do. We need to get back playing the way we can and if we do that then as you saw in the semi-final we know we can hurt Celtic. We have got the players to do it.
“I do believe we have that bit of confidence about us. We know we are not playing as well as we would like, but we have shown it in spells. This is a game which hopefully can bring the performance out of us.
"The signings we have made there is no doubt they have come here to play in this fixture, of this magnitude against their local rivals trying to win leagues and cups. This is the sort of fixture these guys are coming for. I really believe this is an opportunity for us to put a marker down.”
Defeat would leave Mark Warburton’s team trailing four points behind Brendan Rodgers’s side – who have a game in hand due to their involvement in the International Champions Cup this season – after just five games of the season.
Miller, though, knows from personal experience how victory in the Old Firm game can transform a team’s fortunes. “It gives you a chance to put behind you any kind of poor performance or poor result,” he said. “It’s a chance to go out and show that we are capable. There’s no doubt that, within the four walls, we believe that.
“It’s about going out and actually performing. When you cross that white line, it’s about performing week in week out and showing that you are going to be capable of putting up a challenge. This game is a real chance to show that.”
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