WILLIE Miller has backed Walter Smith to make the same transition he made from the dugout to the boardroom and said that having a friend and football man at the helm should benefit Rangers manager Ally McCoist.

Miller was appointed to the Aberdeen board in 2004, to a role as director of football development which took in everything from appointing the likes of Jimmy Calderwood as manager to bringing through youth players.

His time at the club ended with a purge at boardroom level last June, but Miller backed Smith to take to the role of non-executive chairman at Ibrox.

"The majority of directors aren't football people so, having worked in the boardroom, it's difficult to get them to understand how football people think," said Miller, speaking to publicise a Mars Just Play event organised by the SFA.

"If you mention to them [directors] that football people think differently to business people they don't like that but it's a fact of life. They do."

"But I think Walter has enough experience to mix both of them," Miller added.

"He has a bit of business acumen to understand where they are coming from but still get over the football side of it and where the investment should be going.

"I don't think there is a better guy on the planet than Walter Smith for the job.

"I said months ago that Rangers should get Walter back and they did that."

Miller also insisted that the appointment would benefit McCoist.

He said: "Walter will be a huge help in transmitting Ally's football thoughts to the boardroom.

"He knows him well, has worked with him for years and just having that sounding board will help too."