League Cup medal would complete the set for Kenny Miller

IF VINDICATION can be measured in pieces of silver, Kenny Miller knows his decision to return to Rangers could be fully justified on Sunday.

When he ended his first spell at the Ibrox club a little over eight years ago, Miller did so with nothing tangible to show for it. Often a bit-part player in a more prosperous era for Rangers, the striker failed to win any major honours before he was off-loaded to Wolves for 3million.

While times are financially tougher at Rangers second time around, however, Miller has flourished. He will complete a full set of winners' medals with the club if they overcome St Mirren in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final at Hampden.

The Scotland international played a key role in last season's SPL and Scottish Cup double success for Rangers, his selfless contribution earning him the respect of even those supporters who opposed his return to the club on the basis of his spell of service to Celtic during the intervening years.

"There will always be people who say I'm not deserving to wear the shirt," said Miller, "but I love it here. I have come back to Rangers and been successful. Whether or not the fans think I have won the debate, I think I have won it.

"I won the league and the Scottish Cup last season and now I want more success. I have never won the League Cup in my career, so it would be nice to complete the collection on Sunday. I left the club without a medal after my first spell.

"I was only 20 back then and Rangers had a lot of money. There were players like Ronald de Boer, Tore Andre Flo, Rod Wallace, Michael Mols and Billy Dodds at the club, so I was always going to be down the pecking order.

"I'm playing a much bigger role at the club this time, it has been a fantastic move for me. I love coming into work every day, we have a great management team and group of players who all fight for each other and pull in the same direction.

"I didn't think twice about coming back, because I knew Walter Smith was a manager who would get the best out of me. Don't get me wrong, I knew it would be tough. I didn't think 'Brilliant, I'll go back and get stick for weeks'.

"But I wanted to play for Rangers, I wanted to play for the manager and I wanted to play in a successful team which would win the league back. I just play the game my way and give everything I can. I maybe give even more here because I knew I would come up against a bit of opposition about me coming back."

Miller missed out on a League Cup winner's medal last year as Rangers lost 2-0 to Celtic after extra-time in the final. It turned out to be the match which denied them a treble, although the 30-year-old recalls it was not an issue at the time.

"The treble was never actually mentioned," said Miller, "because we were so far behind Celtic in the SPL at the time of the final. It was a big disappointment. Losing any final is hard to take, but an Old Firm one especially so. When you look back on it, we were only extra-time away from a treble."

Talk of achieving the rare feat this season is proving a source of irritation for Rangers manager Smith who felt a creeping sense of complacency was the source of his team's failure to see out last Sunday's Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against Dundee United at Ibrox when they let a 3-1 lead slip.

"The manager gave us a dressing down after the game," revealed Miller. "We should have seen that game out and he let us know about it. He sees us approaching the finishing line this season and doesn't want any complacency to kick in.

"We are not good enough to switch off, or drop down a few gears and then just pick it up again if things go wrong.

We have to be at the top of our game to beat anyone we play, whether it is Dundee United last Sunday or St Mirren in this weekend's final. We have taken the gaffer's message on board and it was probably the kick up the backside we need to go into the last 13 or 14 games of the season.

"The treble talk was premature, although we do have a realistic chance of it. We have one final on Sunday, a Scottish Cup quarter-final replay next Wednesday and we are sitting pretty in the SPL. But we haven't won anything yet and we still have to go out and earn trophies.

"It is a wake-up call for us. We know Sunday's game is going to be tough.

"St Mirren have made it difficult for us every time we have played them this season.

There's nothing the two teams don't know about each other, but hopefully the fact it is a cup final will give the game an extra edge."