Gordon Smith: Rangers striker Kenny Miller has always been a model professional

WHEN I was an agent, Kenny Miller was one of my clients.

I handled his move from Hibs, his first club, to Rangers in 2000, and also his transfer to Wolves a year later.

It was while at Molineux that he became friendly with David Baldwin, the man who has been all over the headlines this week, and switched representation.

I mention this because my experience has left me with some strong convictions about the situation Kenny has found himself in with Rangers.

The first is that I would completely echo David Baldwin’s description of the player.

Kenny was always extremely professional in the time I worked with him.

He never caused any problems and he certainly didn’t agitate for either of the two moves I have mentioned.

Secondly, it is important to recognise that every word Baldwin has said this week will have been approved by Kenny himself.

That is the way the relationship works between player and agent.

They have been together for some 14 years. That doesn’t happen without a very close understanding being in place between the pair.

So the depth of feeling in the quotes about Kenny being “hung out to dry” against a backdrop of talk about a dressing room leak, will be – at the very least – shared by the player.

Mention of the leak brings me to my third point. Rangers may not have ever said Miller was the man responsible.

Yet, there is no way they would not have been aware of the consequences of dropping him from the first team, and sending him off to England with the Under-20s, in a week when Pedro Caixinha was publicly complaining about information coming out of the dressing room.

They will certainly have known how that decision would be received, that fans would read it as a clear signal the striker was the man responsible.

Likewise, it is significant that despite the talk of things being sorted out, Miller has remained exiled from the first-team squad.

What happens next?

Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha admits he is addicted – to the taste of winning!

I believe that hinges on the outcome of this afternoon’s League Cup semi-final between Motherwell and Rangers.

If Pedro can lead his team to victory, and a place in the Final, the supporters will be inclined to forgive him the fallout with one of the most-popular players of recent years.

The team have been winning, Alfredo Morelos is looking like the real deal up front, and there have been good signs from Carlos Pena.

Furthermore, Celtic’s defeats in the Champions League from Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have been a reminder that their great rivals have gaps of their own to worry about.

Lose, and it could be a different story. Fans might side with Miller.

It is an intriguing situation, not least because the match itself promises to be a tight contest.

Motherwell have been going very well with their win over Aberdeen in the quarter-final very impressive indeed.

It spoke volumes that when the two teams met again in the league a few days later, Derek McInnes set the Dons up to blunt their opponents’ attacking threats.

His caution worked for Aberdeen, they won the match. I would think Pedro would be advised to give some thought to how to deal with Louis Moult and Co.

If everything clicks for Rangers then they could run out easy winners. They have that kind of talent in the group.

Equally, I would not be surprised to see Motherwell add to their recent victories to book themselves a place in the final.

Easier to predict is the future of Miller himself. Approaching 38, he does not have time on his side.

A move away in January is surely on the cards to allow him to enjoy what remains of the rest of his playing career, free from dispute.