The chance to pull on his boots was one that Kenny Miller was never going to turn down. Now he is waiting for the next opportunity at the right moment.

A coaching session with kids of varying ages and abilities at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow was a little different from his usual method of putting players through their paces. Miller jokes that getting a couple of nutmegs in were good for his confidence as he got a touch of the ball once again and perhaps inspired the next generation.

That hour or so at a McDonald’s Fun Football session could be the moment that aspiring players fall in love with the game that Miller has never lost his affinity with or affection for. He finds himself out of it at present but it continues to hold a personal and professional allure for the 43-year-old.

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In the latter stages of his playing career, Miller was always talked about as someone who seemed destined to move into coaching or management. His final outing for Partick Thistle - a 2-1 home defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup - was never going to be his last involvement with football.

A seven-week spell as player-manager of Livingston had already come and gone by that stage. After leaving Firhill, Miller ventured Down Under and was assistant to Carl Robinson at Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers.

He linked up with former boss Martin Rennie at Falkirk before his time alongside Mark Fotheringham at Huddersfield Town lasted just 21 matches. The trials and tribulations have only served to reaffirm Miller's belief that he has made the right choice for his career after his career.

"No, not at all," Miller said when asked if his recent experiences had put him off coaching at present. "If anything, they make you more hungry.

"I have got no intention of stepping away, I am not scunnered by the insane nature of the managerial merry-go-round at the moment. If anything, it gives you a hunger to get back in.

"The longest role was when I went to Australia right after retiring from playing and it was great to get away and focus on the coaching. I worked with some wonderful people there as well.

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"It was good to come back and have a spell at Falkirk with Martin Rennie, which was great, and then to go and work with Mark in the Championship, which was a wonderful level.

"It has only made me more hungry to get back in and I will be keeping my ear to the floor over the summer to see if anything pops up. I really enjoyed the role as assistant.

"I think moving forward, sometime in the future, if there were opportunities for managerial roles I would be more than happy to sit down with anyone and have a chat. It has definitely not made me any less hungry to get back in."

It is about the where and the when now for Miller. His most notable moments came in the blue of Rangers, green of Celtic and colours of his country but his career was one of many stops and many medals.

His time with Rennie at Vancouver Whitecaps preceded his third move to Ibrox. He represented Wolverhampton Wanderers, Derby County and Cardiff City in the English leagues, had a season in Turkey with Bursaspor and rounded off a career that started at Hibernian and Stenhousemuir with a campaign at Dens Park and those final appearances for Thistle.

In managerial terms, he is still a relative newcomer. Yet there are few figures as established and respected in the game here as Miller and few who have the breadth of knowledge and depth of know-how after more than two decades leading the line.

"That is what life is and what coaching is," Miller said. "It is about experience, it is about gaining different kinds of knowledge from different places you live and how you adapt to different people.

"I have played all over, I have coached far away. It is also down to opportunities and where the next opportunity lies and what it looks like.

"When you are in this side of the game, you can’t be too picky and choosy until you have really earned that reputation where you can sit and hand-pick a role. I am far from that at the moment so it is where the next opportunity arises.

"You have a look at it and if it is something you fancy then you jump into it. That might be close to home, it might not be. I am more than willing to go where the right opportunity is and where the right fit is."

The managerial market has never been as fierce. It provides openings for up-and-coming coaches but it is a sink or swim environment as social media and trigger-happy executives have changed the landscape of the game.

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Miller worked with some of the finest tacticians and leaders that Scotland has ever produced and cherishes his times under the tutelage of Walter Smith, Alex McLeish and Gordon Strachan. Another iconic figure, Glenn Hoddle, provided him with a 'wonderful education' at Molineux.

He has seen football change and adapted and evolved with it. Miller maximised his own talent and cajoled the best out of those around him throughout his playing days and has the standards and the insight to have just as profound an impact from the touchline.

"I have worked with a lot of wonderful managers over my career that would fall into that [old-school] category," Miller said. "I would say that I am a modern day coach but I believe that some of the old school standards are maybe missing over the piece.

The Herald: Legendary Rangers manager Walter Smith has sadly passed away, aged 73. (Pic: PA)

"It is getting that balance. And that balance might be different from one player to the next or one club to the next. You have to be really flexible, not just with the way you work but your mindset as well when you have to deal with certain situations.

"It is not a player, it is a person that you are dealing with. It is how you can get the best out of that person and get them performing to a level that they are capable of. That goes for the other 25 as well and that approach might need to change from one guy to the next.

"I love the modern day coaching with the amount of detail and the prep work, that is the favourite part of my week when you get the team ready for that game and the challenges that the game brings. I do believe these older school standards in terms of the demands, the respect and the daily habits, I think that needs to be applied as well."

The names of Smith, McLeish and Strachan naturally stand out for Miller but he is grateful for the time he spent in Australia working under Robinson - a 'good friend and a good coach' - and at Falkirk as their bold move to appoint Rennie didn't yield the results that either party wished for. Mark Warburton, his manager at Rangers, is still highly regarded as Miller talks up the credentials of former team-mates Neil McCann and Gary Caldwell.

When it comes to potential rising stars, none have shone as brightly as Fotheringham. The former midfielder helped FC Ingolstadt 04 gain promotion to 2. Bundesliga and worked in the German second tier with Karlsruher SC but it was his time alongside Felix Magath at Hertha Berlin that really made his name.

A five-game winless run saw him sacked as Huddersfield manager in February as the Terriers sought a fourth boss in seven months. The change in direction and profile paid off as Neil Warnock secured their Championship status but Miller needs no convincing of Fotheringham's credentials.

"Mark has had an incredible education into playing and coaching from the time he spent in Germany and the people that he has worked with," Miller said. "This is a guy that was coaching in the Bundesliga. I couldn’t tell you the last time there was a Scottish coach in the Bundesliga.

"What I learned from him, again from things that he has learned through his experience, was incredible. A really, really talented young Scottish coach and I have no doubt that he will be back in soon.

"He has got way too much to offer and too much energy and passion to take time out. I have had some really good experiences there."

Miller will put them to good use. The striker was accustomed to the phone ringing with offers throughout his playing career and he will know when the next one is the right one to say yes to.

"It is learning, maybe nicking a few wee things and making it your own," Miller said. "There are also the not so good things that you wouldn’t want to be doing and I have had a lot of them as well.

"I feel in good position that when I do get back into a role I can utilise all the experiences I have had, good and bad, and put them to work to make them successful."

*Kenny Miller joined children for a McDonald’s Fun Football session at The Riverside Museum, Glasgow. McDonald’s provides free fun football coaching for 5–11-year-olds across the UK. Find a Fun Football session near you at: www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football