Scott Allan’s Rangers move ‘inevitable’

Former Rangers player Charlie Miller joins current manager Mark Warburton at yesterday's Petrofac Training cup draw. Picture: SNS

The former Rangers midfielder knows that Hibs are caught in an invidious situation having been forced to deal with two bids from the Ibrox side and the subsequent revelation from the 23-year-old that he wants to join his boyhood heroes.

While Hibs have consistently maintained that they will not sell their driving force, Miller cannot see that view holding sway before the end of the transfer window.

Miller said: “It’s a difficult situation. The boy wants to leave, obviously, Rangers want him – but Hibs want to keep him. Money talks, in the end.

“I think that’s what will happen in the end. Hibs will want £1.5 million, they won’t get that, but they’ll get something for him. And good luck to the boy. It’s inevitable that he will end up at Ibrox. It looks like it.”

Miller feels player power invariably wins in these situations – at any level – and even if Hibs resist right now, Allan will simply sign a pre-contract in January which will only anger the Easter Road club further.

He said: “I think the balance of power now lies with players. If a player wants to leave, he can just go, effectively. Look at Raheem Sterling. OK, he went for 49 million quid, but it shows that players hold all the aces now.

“I felt for Scott on Saturday because he was put in a difficult position, because effectively he’s said that he wants to leave.

“I still think Hibs should have started him on Saturday. If they weren’t going to play him, I wouldn’t have him there. I would have put him in the stand. So I think Alan Stubbs missed a trick there. I’ve been in a dressing room with players who wanted to leave and it’s not the ideal situation, obviously.

“At Rangers, there were a few changing rooms with a lot of very good players who wanted away, because they couldn’t get a game.

“It doesn’t help. But I believe someone like Scott will come through it all stronger, whatever happens.

“He had a rough time down at West Brom, he made a bold decision to come back and get back on track with Hibs. Let’s hope he kicks on.

“It will definitely have a detrimental effect on Hibs, all of this – but you just hope the boy is professional, plays as well as he can for Hibs and earns his move.

“He can then sign a pre-contract with Rangers in January, if he doesn’t go this window, and maybe he’ll move then. But he might play well enough to get back to England again. You never know.”

“It’s up to him to keep playing and show that he’s professional enough if he doesn’t get the chance. But I think he’ll be there at some point.”

Miller, who now runs a football academy, was hugely impressed with the way his old team played against Hibs last Saturday as they produced a remarkable 6-2 victory which made him question whether Mark Warburton actually needs Allan. Miller added: ‘I was shocked with how well Rangers played on Saturday. I thought they did very well.

“So do they need Scott Allan, after Saturday’s performance? Who knows? But they will be getting a good player, if and when they get him. For the first 30 minutes on Saturday, Hibs were very good – then Rangers took control once they’d scored.

“I thought they looked very good, the right-back James Tavernier in particular, who scored with a great free-kick.

“Obviously they have to add to the team. But he’s got a lot of good young boys who are hungry, desperate to do well – and who seem very fit. They want the ball, they want to play. They’ve got someone like Danny Wilson, who has been at Rangers before.

“And I was impressed with Martyn Waghorn, who has been around in England for a long time. They’ll get goals from him.

“It’s important that there are Scots at the heart of what the manager is doing.

“There are a few good English boys but, if they get Scott Allan in, he’s joining a team with Danny Wilson, Jason Holt and a few others.

“You need your identity. You don’t want to lose your Scottish identity as a club – and there have been some good signings.

“We had a fair few Scottish boys in my day – unfortunately I couldn’t get a game because of all the bloody foreigners!”

Scott Allan’s Rangers move ‘inevitable’ - Charlie Miller