KENNY Miller last night claimed that Lee Wallace was frozen out at Rangers last season because he had won his appeal against the disciplinary action the Ibrox club took against him.

Miller and Wallace were both suspended and then fined for alleged misconduct in the dressing room following the 4-0 defeat to Celtic in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden back in April 2018.

But the pair, vice-captain and captain at the time, challenged the punishment and an SPFL tribunal ruled in their favour in September.

Miller had left Rangers by then because his contract had expired, but Scotland internationalist Wallace was still on the books.

The 31-year-old only made three substitute appearances for Rangers under manager Steven Gerrard during the 2018/19 campaign. Gerrard insisted he had better options at left back and played Borna Barasic, Jon Flanagan and Andy Halliday in the specialist position.

But Miller, who has signed a one-year deal with Partick Thistle, yesterday alleged his former team mate was marginalised because he had been successful with his appeal.

“Of course he was,” he said. “I don’t know how things went, but I don’t think many would have felt Lee Wallace wasn’t good enough to play for that team.

“I’ve absolutely no doubt he should have been playing in that team last year. I believe he should have been playing because not only do I believe he was the best left-back, I believe he was one of their best players. I believe the team could have been better with the influence he has got.”

Miller backed Wallace to show that he should have been involved more often by performing well for Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship under former Rangers manager Mark Warburton in the coming season.

“I know he is somebody that doesn’t look back, only forward,” he said. “He is very, very positive about being reunited with Mark Warburton, a very good manager who will play the way Lee wants.

“He creates an environment Lee responds well to. It’s not about going down there and proving people wrong. He will just go down there and show what was missing.

“It’s a new challenge for him after eight years at Rangers. He will be disappointed how it ended. He was fit for pretty much the majority of the season and raring to go and he will be looking forward to this season at QPR under a manager he has worked with and respects and plays the way he likes.”

Meanwhile, the 39-year-old has spoken of his bitter disappointment at how his own lengthy association with Rangers, who he played for on three separate occasions, ended.

“It’s not been a great 14 months,” he said. “It ended in relegation (with Dundee) and ultimately it was a disappointing year. But you have to take the bad times with the good, you are not always going to get things your own way. These things happen in football, you have to dust yourself down and get on with I which I tried to do.

“Leaving Rangers in the manner I did was obviously the worst part of that because of what the club means to me and the things I have achieved at the club and the service I gave.

"Big Lee Wallace had the same kind of ending and I’m sure he will feel the same. It was very disappointing. The thing is he is not one for looking back, he will be looking forward to this season.

“I’m glad I’m here (at Firhill) now with good football people with good values, the right values, that are going to do things in the right manner. That’s another good positive point."

Miller continued: “I did leave out the back door with a black bag over my shoulder and not a person at Murray Park. I saw wee Jean and a few people in the kitchen and that was it. That’s the way it had to be.

“It’s disappointing when you have known people as long as I had over a long time. I had eight years of service spanning over an 18 year spell. It was disappointing, but, listen, that was out of my hands.”

Miller received a warm ovation from Rangers supporters when he returned to Ibrox with Dundee for a Ladbrokes Premiership game in September – but ended up getting sent off in a 4-0 defeat.

“It was nice,” he said. "The fans have always been the fans – they’ve always been supportive not just of myself.

"They supported the club through real tough times when there was a demotion to the bottom league.

“I still remember turning up as a fan when there was 50,000 against Peterhead in Division Three. It was phenomenal. T

"he fans have always been supportive through all of this process – probably more so over the last few years because of what the club has been through.

“So it was nice to receive that kind of reception that day. It wasn’t great the result – or walking down the tunnel after a red card.

"But it was nice to receive that kind of reception. It doesn’t really make up for how it ended."

Miller added: “Lee got his wee cameo towards the end of one of the games (against Aberdeen at Ibrox in April) didn’t he? Personally I don’t know if he would have wanted it.

"But it gave the fans a chance to show appreciation for the service he had given the club right through the journey from the bottom back to the top.”