‘It’s embarrassing’ – Lee Naylor slams Rangers for striker decision
By James Black
Former Celtic defender Lee Naylor has spoken out in support of Rangers outcast Kenny Miller – and slammed the Ibrox club for their “embarrassing” treatment of the striker.
Pedro Caixinha decided to banish Miller to the clubs’ Under-20’s after reportedly leaking information from a team meeting in the wake of the 2-0 Old Firm loss to Celtic.
The veteran has missed Rangers’ last two games – wins over Hamilton and St. Johnstone – and is unlikely to be involved this weekend when the Light Blues travel to Hampden to face Motherwell in the League Cup semi-final.
Naylor doesn’t believe Miller is the disruptive influence many are painting him as and insists the way the 37-year-old has been treated by the Gers is unfair.
“Kenny has always been someone to speak his mind but only a positive way and he’s intelligent enough to go about it in the right way,” Naylor said, as quoted by the Daily Record website.
“I don’t know exactly what has gone on but I can’t imagine Kenny being a bad egg and it’s embarrassing the way it’s dragged on.
“You would have to ask the manager why the club haven’t cleared up the situation but I’m sure Kenny is going in every day and training as hard as he ever would.
“If something was truly wrong then why doesn’t someone just say something? As far as knowing the truth, I’m as in the dark as anyone.
“But I just don’t think it’s fair that a professional, especially one coming to the end of his career, is having his reputation tarnished.”
Miller is in his third stint as a Rangers player and played alongside Naylor during spells with Wolves and Celtic.
The veteran’s contract expires at the end of the season after being handed a one-year extension by Caixinha but it looks as though his time at Ibrox is up.
He was ever-present under Caixinha before he was axed to the reserve side, prompting the Gers to switch up their formation that sees Carlos Pena play behind Alfredo Morelos in a 4-2-3-1.
In other Rangers transfer news, a £7.5million midfielder is firmly in the running to be the club’s next signing.
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Rangers breaking news.