Rangers manager Walter Smith amidts he probably rushed Allan McGregor into first-team action before dropping the goalkeeper for the last two matches.

McGregor was injured towards the end of last season and looked off-form at the start of the present campaign.

"He was terrific for us last season," said Smith of the Scotland goalkeeper.

"If anything, I was maybe a little unfair on him, pitching him in at the start of the season when he was just recovering from injury."

Scotland squad team-mate Neil Alexander had taken over in goal for the run-in to last season and has been handed the number one jersey after finding himself back on the bench while McGregor recovered from injury over the summer.

"Maybe at that stage, I should have given him a little bit more time and a little bit more intensive training," added Smith.

"He is getting that now and maybe that will bring him back to the form he was in last season."

You have to say this for Kenny Miller, he’s got strength of character in abundance to come back to Rangers and put up with the sort of abuse he has had to endure.

The Scottish international striker, 11 months ago a Celtic player and now back at Ibrox for a second time in his career, has aroused a deep-seated enmity in a section of the Rangers support which quite a few people at Ibrox – Walter Smith, the manager, included – have come to regret.

Yesterday, Miller spoke openly and candidly about the type of rubbish he has had to endure from the stands since pulling on a Rangers jersey again. His manager hasn’t quite spoken of “the dark ages” when talking of Miller and the Rangers support but that’s what Smith meant when he said earlier this week that he “thought those days were behind us”. Ever since his resigning for Rangers was first mooted, Miller has been jeered, including at Ibrox three nights ago in the Champions League qualifier against FBK Kaunas.

And yet, the player himself is refreshingly robust and unaffected by it. Indeed, Miller even speaks with a certain warmth and fairness towards the Rangers fans, many of whom, perhaps in sympathy, chose to applaud him off the park when he was substituted after 70 minutes on Wednesday, having played quite well. Nonetheless, he has hearts and minds to win round in the months ahead.

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“Ever since Christmas there was this chance of me coming back to Rangers and I knew then there would be people who wouldn’t want me to come back because I was at Celtic last year,” Miller said. “It was something I knew I would have to deal with. But I wanted to come back here and work with Walter Smith and Ally McCoist and I was willing to put everything else aside to do that.

“I could hear booing when the team was read out [on Wednesday night] and I’ve been prepared for the worst. But, actually, I was pleasantly surprised as it wasn’t bad at all. I could handle the reception at the start and when I did come off I was over the moon with the reception I got. Some people suggested they were just cheering as I was going off, but I’m an optimistic – I hope they were cheering because I gave a decent performance.”

Miller, rather admirably, is prepared to give his dissenters the benefit of the doubt. A likeable character off the park, the striker says he hopes the feeling against him will subside in time.

“As the season goes on, hopefully the booing will fade out – maybe people will just get bored of it,” he said. “As long as the team is successful I hope the criticism will diminish. And, hand on heart, I can say I’ve not had one person coming up to me [in the street] and giving a negative reaction to me coming back.

“I’ve not lost much sleep over it. Wednesday night was the first home game and was going to be a bench-mark to see how the fans would react. I knew there will always be fans who don’t want me there but I just need to get on with it. Maybe in time I can turn them around.”

One problem Miller will have is that he is not a natural goalscorer. Or at least, for the past five seasons his scoring rate has been modest: a goal per five games. If goals are a striker’s currency, then he doesn’t have it, as witnessed by a good chance he missed against Kaunas. His prime quality, however, is his selfless work for the team.

“I should have scored on Wednesday night but I was pretty happy overall with my performance,” Miller said. “As a forward, a goal can always enhance your performance. But that chance I missed aside, I felt I did what I always said I would do: I worked hard for the team and gave everything I’ve got. I was reasonably happy with how the game went, apart from the result.

“The workrate for me is standard, and I think it should be the same for everyone. I’m

August

Sat 9 12:30 A Falkirk SPLG
Sat 16 15:00 H Hearts SPLG
Sat 23 15:00 A Aberdeen SPLG
Sat 30 15:00 A Celtic SPLG


September

Sat 13 15:00 H Kilmarnock SPLG
Sun 21 15:00 H Motherwell SPLG
Sat 27 15:00 A Hibernian SPLG


October

Sat 4 15:00 A St Mirren SPLG
Sat 18 15:00 H Dundee United SPLG
Sat 25 15:00 A Hamilton SPLG


November

Sat 1 15:00 H Inverness CT SPLG
Sat 8 15:00 A Kilmarnock SPLG
Wed 12 19:45 A Motherwell SPLG
Sat 15 15:00 H St Mirren SPLG
Sat 22 15:00 H Aberdeen SPLG
Sat 29 15:00 A Hearts SPLG


December

Sat 6 15:00 H Hamilton SPLG
Sat 13 15:00 A Dundee United SPLG
Sat 20 15:00 H Hibernian SPLG
Sat 27 15:00 H Celtic SPLG


January

Sat 3 15:00 A Inverness CT SPLG
Sat 17 15:00 H Falkirk SPLG
Sat 24 15:00 A Aberdeen SPLG
Sat 31 15:00 H Dundee United SPLG


February

Sat 14 15:00 A Celtic SPLG
Sat 21 15:00 H Kilmarnock SPLG
Sat 28 15:00 A Hamilton SPLG


March

Wed 4 19:45 H Inverness CT SPLG
Sat 14 15:00 A St Mirren SPLG
Sat 21 15:00 H Hearts SPLG


April

Sat 4 15:00 A Falkirk SPLG
Sat 11 15:00 H Motherwell SPLG
Sat 18 15:00 A Hibernian SPLG