Michael Mols pleased to see Kenny Miller rolling back the years at Rangers
THE first impression was positive, the latest ones are surprising yet also pleasing for Michael Mols.
It is 16 years since the Dutchman was joined at Ibrox by Kenny Miller. On Tuesday, Mols returned to familiar territory and saw a familiar face. He may not have been needed by boss Mark Warburton or his team-mates against Raith Rovers, but Miller will certainly be called upon in the coming weeks as Rangers look to clinch the Championship crown.
It will see the striker play in Scotland’s top flight at the age of 37 and be another milestone in a career that has included so many for club and country. In his 30 appearances for Rangers this term, he has played in a variety of roles, scored 13 times and lead by example in Light Blue.
Miller is the elder statesman of a young squad, the man who has been there and got the t-shirts amongst a group of players who are bidding for their first league medals. He may be in the twilight of his career but he is still a shining light for Warburton’s squad to follow as they close in on the Championship title and look to add cup silverware to their league medals this term.
The forward still has a key role to play on the park this season and next and he remains determined to feature as often as possible for Warburton’s side. It may well be his influence around the first team dressing room and on the Under-20 touchline that could have the greatest impact in the months to come, though.
“Can he play in the Premiership next season? It depends whether or not his body will let him,” Mols said. “He certainly hasn’t lost his desire or his eagerness to play. But, when I play nowadays, I have it in my mind that I’m still 28 but my body is 45!
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“However, I can’t speak for Kenny, although he has less hair than he used to have. He is more experienced now, although his style of playing is still the same.
“Don’t underestimate the dressing room, with his experience and also what it means to play for Rangers, especially if the players are coming on loan and they maybe know the club by name but not really the size of it. Also with the expectations, of course, and also if things aren’t going the right way with his experience he can help the youngsters.”
After sitting out on Tuesday night as Harry Forrester and Lee Wallace got the goals that beat Raith and moved Warburton’s side 14 points clear at the top of the table, Miller is set to return to the starting line-up against Dundee on Saturday.
Victory would put Rangers into the Scottish Cup semi-finals and edge them closer to what could become a unique and unexpected Treble this term. Mols reckons the fact that Hibernian and Ross County will contest the League Cup final this month proves that the door is open to make a bid for the silverware.
“Why not?,” he said when asked if Rangers could win the Scottish Cup this season. “But you need to take it game by game.
“You can talk about winning it but if you lose on Saturday there’s no point. It’s a 50-50 chance I see it on Saturday and it is football, there are always surprises in cup games, so why not Rangers?
“That’s what I’m trying to say. In the past, it was always Rangers or Celtic in the cup finals and now with the situation you would always say it should be Celtic always in the finals. But it’s still football and now there are two other teams in the final.”
If Rangers can emerge with three medals to their credit this term, it would be quite an achievement for Warburton and his players. It would not be the ultimate in Scottish football, though.
Mols was part of the last side to win the Treble as Rangers lifted the SPL, League Cup and Scottish Cup in 2003. In recent years, Celtic have come close but domestic dominance has eluded them and Mols is surprised they haven’t made the most of Rangers’ troubles.
“If I look back now, it’s really special to win a Treble,” Mols said. “When Rangers went down a few leagues, you would say, Ok, that will give Celtic a big chance of winning the Treble for maybe three, four seasons. But, from what we’ve seen, it’s still very difficult to do.
“You would have expected Celtic to have done it, so yes I’m surprised they never managed it, although I’m not sure about the standards of Celtic, Aberdeen or the other clubs. Normally you would have Rangers, Celtic and then a big gap, then maybe Hearts or Aberdeen – always one team would do something in the league.”
*Michael Mols was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.
