KENNY MILLER has been there, done it and got the t-shirt. He has got the bumps and bruises as well and knows how Nathan Oduwa is feeling.
The influence of Miller, who will be 36 in December, has been crucial for Mark Warburton’s squad so far this season. It is a relatively inexperienced group and few know what it is like to play for a club like Rangers.
But if Oduwa needs any words of wisdom, there are few better people he could turn to. The 19-year-old has made headlines for the right reasons so far in Scotland as he has turned in a series of impressive performances since making the move from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. This week he has been at the centre of a storm, though.
It is a situation that is not of his own making and one where he is the innocent party. Oduwa was forced off at half-time of Rangers’ win over Livingston on Tuesday evening after a bruising 45 minutes that saw him lucky to escape serious ankle damage and elbowed in the face, before a post-match brouhaha erupted following comments from Mark Burchill, the Livingston manager.
For a player whose only other first team experience came with Luton last season, it has been quite a change. The spotlight, the pressure, even the tough tackling, will all benefit him in the long run, though.
“It was one of those things that happen in games,” Miller, who made a loan switch to Stenhousemuir as a fresh-faced forward in 1998, said. “The tackles are flying in. We saw it in his first game, the array of tricks and ability the boy’s got.
“He’s going to get people targeting him. He won’t be the last guy to get that kind of treatment but he gets up and gets on with it and is looking forward to the game on Sunday.
“He has to find a way to make himself more evasive to the kind of treatment he is going to get. The kind of player he is, he’s not the first and definitely won’t be the last flair player who is going to get harsh treatment from defenders.”
It is not just in Warburton’s squad where Miller’s presence has been felt this season as the Championship leaders look to make it eleven wins out of eleven when they face St Mirren tomorrow afternoon.
His sights are set on a new contract that, he hopes, will earn him another crack at the Premiership with Rangers next season. But he is also looking further down the line, lending a hand to Ian Durrant at Murray Park as he thinks beyond his playing days.
“In the last couple of months, I have been doing a bit of work with Durranty and the 20s,” Miller said. “It is great to get involved with a good group and a good group of boys. For me, it is a step that I want to take in a few years’ time, not quite just yet. It is something I want to make, whether it is into coaching or eventually management. It is a good insight into the other side of the game.”
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