Walter Smith still hopeful of keeping contract rebel Kenny Miller at Ibrox

THE possibility that Rangers striker Kenny Miller could yet have a long-term future at Ibrox remains a live one, his manager Walter Smith maintained yesterday.

Earlier reports had claimed that, following the latest breakdown in talks over an extension to a deal that ends in the summer, Miller would either be sold in January's transfer window or leave for free under freedom of contract six months down the line.

But as he met the press to discuss his team's trip to Inverness for today's lunchtime televised encounter, Smith stressed that no end point had been reached in the bid to retain the 30-year-old. Little wonder with the player's remarkable 19-goal haul providing the propulsion for Rangers' season and placing him currently fourth in a world list of football's most productive plunderers.

Miller is believed to have rejected two contract offers to improve on his current weekly wage of 17,000, a figure that meant he had to agree to a 4,000-a-week wage cut to join Rangers from Derby County in the summer of 2008. As well as this stumbling block, it is understood that, mindful of this probably being his last lucrative contract, Miller is seeking a three-year deal while the club are reluctant to table longer than a two-year extension. With no prospective buyers having tabled bids for Miller or any other player, Smith believes it is premature to consider any departures inevitable.

"Negotiations can be restarted," the Rangers manager said. "They have stalled at the present moment but I stress to you it is a stall more than anything else. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Obviously there is a concern about losing him, but it's a concern we have had for nearly two full seasons. When it comes to the transfer window, whether it be the winter one or the summer one, it has been said that we will lose players. We will just have to hope we get through this one in the manner we got through the rest and hope we don't lose important ones. We have been dropping down in numbers over the past few seasons and are reaching the stage where we can't go any lower than we are."

Rangers found themselves in a similar situation with Kris Boyd a year ago. They retained his services and subsequently received no fee for him when he left under freedom of contract at the end of the season. With the Ibrox club still in hock to Lloyds as they await to see whether the Craig Whyte takeover goes through, the belief is that they push to sell Miller next month for around 1 million - whatever the loss of their most valuable performer does to the hopes of a third consecutive title. That fails to take account of one salient aspect Smith pointed out.

"The situation at Rangers has been clear for the past two years. If somebody came in for him, like every other player, consideration would have to be given. We all know that. We don't want to lose him; we don't want to lose any of our players. We will just have to wait and see what happens. We can't give a definitive answer one way or another.

"If somebody knows a club interested in taking him then... I read yesterday an Arabian club made a bid for him last year. But they didn't. Nobody did. If we don't get a bid we'll be pleased at that. There is no use worrying too much what might happen because it's been like that for the past couple of years."

Now into his final six months at the helm, that is also Smith's stance on the moves by businessman Whyte to buy out owner of 22 years David Murray. The Rangers manager gave short shrift to a question which suggested he could "take some relief" from the fact that Whyte's ‘people' let it be known this week they would abide by the decision of the Rangers board to follow Smith's recommendation that his No 2, Ally McCoist, should succeed him.

"Not really. You could say that," the Rangers manager shot back at his inquisitor. "The same thing happened the last time [during the proposed takeover by Andrew Ellis]. People keep asking us things about what people will do when they buy the club, but they haven't bought it yet. It was the same thing when he [Ellis] said he was delighted for me to stay on. Buy the club then. So far, that's the way it is. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.""

What is definitely going to happen is today Rangers will face up to an Inverness Caledonian Thistle side who have proved an awkward customer for them on occasion - most recently when Terry Butcher's fourth-placed side fought back to claim a 1-1 draw at Ibrox last month. One of only three Scottish Premier League games going ahead, the encounter provides Rangers with an opportunity to move five points clear of inactive Celtic, currently two points behind them having played a game more.

Sasa Papac will return to the Rangers squad that earned a 1-1 draw in their Champions League group-closer away to Bursaspor on Tuesday but the Bosnian may not make the starting line-up following a month out after sustaining a head knock in the home defeat by Hibs.