Miller is after a goal to top his Auld Enemy strike

Kenny Miller didn’t believe anything could top scoring against England at Wembley in his last international match.

But he admits a strike that helps beat Celtic this afternoon would be right up there.

The 35-year-old is a specialist when it comes to hitting the net in Old Firm games. Now in his third spell with Rangers, Miller has played for both sides and scored eight times in the Glasgow derby.

Today’s League Cup semi-final is different from all the others he’s taken part in. Rangers being such rank outsiders is unprecedented in the history of the fixture.

Playing his part in overcoming the odds would be extra special for Miller, but he’ll take no comfort from adding to his tally if it’s only a consolation.

He said: “A goal from me in this match won’t be any good if we don’t win the game.

“But if it is a winning goal, or a goal which plays its part in winning the game, then I think it would come close to matching what I did at Wembley.

“It would also take us one step closer to getting what we want, which is some silverware.”

Miller, however, can’t emphasise enough that team success has always been uppermost in his mind. He went on: “Only one of my goals in an Old Firm game came in a defeat, but we had already won the League in 2010.

“That is probably my least favourite of the goals that I have scored in these matches. It was a fantastic goal, but in defeat you are still walking away a little bit disappointed.”

Miller has been around the block a few times, and seen the ups and downs of football on both sides of the border, as well as stints abroad in Turkey and the United States.

It’s nearly three years since the clubs last met and Miller is amongst a clutch of players who wondered if they would ever experience the Old Firm atmosphere again.

He reflected: “It is a game everyone is looking forward to, and one I really think we should cherish. That particularly applies to me because I know I might never get that opportunity again.

“When I left three years ago, I felt that was it, I would never see another Old Firm game. That was a 2-0 defeat at Ibrox, so I wasn’t leaving on a great note. So this gives us an opportunity to put that right.”

Miller can’t resist a smile on hearing that some bookies are offering Rangers at 8-1 to beat Celtic.

He said: “Is that what we are? I’ll get my wife to have a bet on that! It’s staggering that you can get a price like that on Rangers.

“The fact Celtic are top of the Premiership and we’re second in the Championship won’t be the deciding factor on how the game goes. It will be how both teams play on the day.

“Loads of things can happen. There can be red cards, strange decisions, penalty decisions that can go for or against you.

“We’ve come up against teams from the Premiership this season in St Johnstone, Kilmarnock and Inverness and we’ve won. That is what we have to do today.

“We weren’t scintillating in those games but we won. And by hook or by crook, that’s what we need to do in this one.”