KENNY MILLER believes Mark Warburton has brought back the Ibrox fear factor by adding quality and quantity to his Rangers squad this summer.
Eight players have made the move to Glasgow ahead of the new campaign and there will be more to come as Warburton prepares for a shot at the Premiership title. With Matt Gilks providing competition in goal, Matt Crooks, Clint Hill and Lee Hodson at the back, Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar and Jordan Rossiter in the middle of the park and Josh Windass in attack, there will be a fresh look to Rangers next term.
For Miller, the injection of new talent is just what the squad needed to ensure they keep moving in the right direction in the top flight.
“It’s an exciting time,” he said. “There is a lot of competition 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 who were going to play most weeks.
“In saying that these guys were playing well enough to hold onto the jerseys but I think these guys that were playing 95 or 98 per cent of the games needed pushed by other players.
“You need to have that fear of being taken out of the team. If you have a bad game and then have another bad game or an average game you know there is a guy to take your place. That’s what we have now and the fact that we have brought in these numbers will only make the lads who were already here better.
“I felt last season there were a number of players who took their place for granted. They knew that no matter what happened they would be playing. We have addressed that now. In saying that there were a hell of a lot of signings last year and we needed to make them because of all the players that left. 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 no just to make up numbers.”
It may have been a productive summer so far for Rangers but Warburton is still a couple of additions short as the countdown continues to the big kick-off.
Miller and Martyn Waghorn lead the way in the Ibrox scoring charts last season but finding another reliable source of goals is imperative for Warburton. Whoever comes in to bolster the Gers attack will have a fight on their hands for a starting spot, though.
“I feel great. I have trained well,” Miller said. “The numbers that are coming up in training are no different to anybody else. For me age is a number. I feel great and I will be judged on my performances and my goals and everything else I bring on a Saturday – not the fact that I’m 36 or 37.
“I felt I did well last season and I really enjoyed playing the role that the manger gave me. I felt it suited me. We will see how it goes. I want to be here and that’s not going to change.
“I would like to think the manager knows me well enough know what I can bring on and off the field. We will play it by ear and see how it goes. My style is that I bring energy to the team and when that stops then I’m going to have to look at the way I’m contributing.
“But we have good sports science guys and I’m still doing all the things and getting the same results as the other players. So I still feel I will be able to play the way I want to play.”
After four years outside the Premiership, Rangers will start a season with their sights set on the top silverware in Scotland once again next term. It is a medal that Miller has won three times in Light Blue already and one he thought he would never get a chance to earn again when he left for Bursaspor in 2011.
Now, Miller and Rangers are back. The hunger for success never left, though.
“When you leave at the stage I did, it was probably a no (that I wouldn’t be back in the Premiership with Rangers),” he said. “But to be honest there was no hiding the fact that after I did leave and move to Vancouver there were definitely movements on my part to come back because I missed the place and there was a lot of talk of it when I was over in Vancouver.
“I’m just delighted to be here now. I’ve had two decent years so far, we achieved what we wanted last year which was getting back to the top league and now the goalposts have moved. And now it’s now about putting a squad together that’s got to be capable of winning the league and there’s no doubt we’ve put the foundations in place to go and do that.”
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