Rangers legend outlines where Michael Beale needs to strengthen in order to close gap on Celtic
- Planet Sport writer
- 3 May 2023
Rangers are on a six-match losing run in the Old Firm derby, though one former striker believes Michael Beale's men aren't far away from matching their fierce rivals.
Rangers have gone six games without beating Celtic but former striker Kenny Miller feels the gap between the teams has been overstated in some quarters.
"It was a very close game, a game I felt Rangers just edged in terms of how the game went," he said of Sunday's 1-0 win for Celtic. "But, similar to the game at Celtic Park, they were undone by a really poor goal to lose, and Fashion Sakala's chance was absolutely massive.
"These games are won and lost on the big moments and it's whether you take those moments or not. From a Rangers perspective, unfortunately in the last couple of games they have not taken those moments and Celtic have.
"I don't think the gap between the two teams is as big as everyone makes out.
"I do believe Michael has made big progress. He is four Old Firm games without a win but they were within three minutes of winning the first one and the other games have been really, really close.
"The edge is with Celtic in terms of the mentality but Rangers have put in some pretty good performances, just never really taken the big moments."
Miller feels signing a goalscorer is the priority.
"A striker is really, really important," the former Scotland international said. "I think Morelos this season has not really performed to the levels we have seen over the past five years. That might just be down to the fact he probably knew he was going to move on.
"You see the impact Kyogo (Furuhashi) has made across the city. Rangers probably need a player to come in and make a similar impact, in a similar time scale as well, because Kyogo hit the ground running.
"And at the other end of the pitch, if Allan McGregor does decide to hang the gloves up, you are going to need someone to follow him because that guy puts points on the board, he has done his whole career as a Rangers goalkeeper. It's big gloves to fill."
Miller said of his coaching session: "It was great to get involved, I really enjoyed the session, I counted maybe seven nutmegs on the kids! I am still young enough that a few of them remembered me.
"It would have been great to have these kind of things when I was a kid, to go with your friends or meet new friends and be coached by a good level of coach. You are having a lot of fun and it's not costing any money."
