KENNY MILLER spent time at a Glasgow hospital yesterday so hopefully took the opportunity while he was there to share his secret of eternal youth.
Miller is 36 years old now and will turn 37 two days before Christmas. And yet, at an age when most players have long since hung up the boots, the Rangers forward is showing no signs of slowing up, never mind stopping.
Manager Mark Warburton has never shied away from rotating his starting line-up from week to week but Miller remains an integral part of his selection, regardless of the opposition, venue or competition.
His age means he is signing contracts on a year to year basis but already it does not seem a ridiculous notion that he could be worth another deal when this current one expires at the end of the season.
Read more: Kenny Miller: Rangers will never give up on the title - Celtic aren't unbeatable
Talks are yet to begin with that in mind but Miller makes clear he does not envisage playing anywhere else in the winter of a career that has already spanned two decades.
“That’s what I want, [a new deal],” he said. “It’s no secret that I don’t want be going anywhere else. I would love to finish in five years’ time at Rangers, but who knows? All I can do is what I do. I’ll just go out and work hard. I feel I’m contributing and I’ve always said that as long as I’m playing and contributing to the team, I’m more than happy to continue and I feel I’m doing that pretty well this year.
“In all honesty I don’t feel any different to when I was 27 or 28. I have another eight or nine years’ experience under my belt and as long as you are physically able to do it, there’s no difference. You might lose a wee half yard here or there but you can gain that with your experience and knowledge of the game and I am just as hungry as I was 10 years ago.”
Read more: Kenny Miller: Rangers will never give up on the title - Celtic aren't unbeatable
Miller still cares a lot, too. An evidently angry and frustrated figure in the immediate aftermath of Rangers’ recent defeat at Tynecastle, he has been subsequently encouraged by the team’s back-to-back home wins over Aberdeen and then Hearts.
Rangers have drawn too many games at home this season that they ought to have won but you have to go back to September 2015 to find the last time they were beaten at Ibrox, a League Cup loss to St Johnstone. It is a record that could yet sustain an unlikely title tilt or, more realistically, a push to finish the campaign as runners-up.
“The last two games have definitely given us hope,” he added. “The results first and foremost were good but the performances were far better - particularly on Saturday. As much as we battled well, which you have to do against Hearts, I thought we played good football as well. I don’t think a four or a five goal win on Saturday would have been too harsh. It would have been good to get a few more goals and it would have been a far bigger statement if we’d got them.
“In any league or in any campaign, you want to win your home games. This was always going to be a month in the season when you looked at the fixtures and saw we had Hearts, Aberdeen and Celtic at home. And we are proud of our home record.
“There have been a few draws and we’d have liked to have turned them into wins, particularly at the start of the season when we had draws against Hamilton on the opening day, which was disappointing because we were really optimistic and looking forward to it, and the likes of Ross County and St Johnstone. But we have moved on from there and are definitely going in the right direction. You’ve seen a different side to the team in the last couple of games as well.”
Read more: Kenny Miller: Rangers will never give up on the title - Celtic aren't unbeatable
Rangers have demonstrated greater fighting spirit in their last two games, most notably through centre forward Joe Garner who seems to be forever involved in some kind of physical joust with the opposition defence.
“The last two games have maybe demanded that side of the game,” added Miller. “We saw the performance at Tynecastle, which wasn’t good enough both in terms of battling qualities and in how we played. The lads battled that night but we lost too many one on ones, too many 50-50s, and too many of the second balls dropped to Hearts players on that night.
“So the last couple of games have demanded a bit of what Joe brings. He has that in abundance. He wears his heart on his sleeve and has done a big, big job for us in the last two games in helping us get the results.”
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