Rangers veteran Miller delivers verdict on Celtic senior player
By Harvey Byrne
Rangers veteran Kenny Miller has delivered praise upon rival Celtic forward Leigh Griffiths after his two goals against England at the weekend.
Club football was put to one side on Saturday with Scotland gearing up to face the Three Lions at Hampden Park for a World Cup qualifier.
Scotland have not won a match against England since 1999 and Gordon Strachan’s side were keen to put an end to their 18-year wait at home and they were close to doing so with Griffiths’ late free kicks putting them 2-1 up before Tottenham goal machine Harry Kane bagged an equaliser in stoppage time to ensure the match finished at 2-2.
Despite the result Griffiths still received a lot of praise for his two goals scored and one plaudit was Rangers and ex-Scotland international Miller, who put the Old Firm rivalry to one side to hail the 26-year-old.
“I’m delighted for Leigh that he’s opened his account, and what a way to do it. It’s just a shame it wasn’t the goals that got us the three points,” told Miller to the Evening Times.
“But his all-round play was very good – he worked hard, from the first minute when he closed the goalkeeper down and blocked it.
“Sometimes that’s all you’ve got to do when you’re that lone striker for Scotland, particularly when you’re playing the top teams.
“You’ve got a lot of hard work to do, and he was tracking back on to Eric Dier in the second half to nick the ball off his toes.
“All round, for a lone striker, the number nine for Scotland, I thought it was a very good performance.
“I think Leigh’s been very, very good for the team over the last two or three games.
“He’s had to bide his time to get his opportunity. He was getting overlooked in favour of Chris Martin, Steven Fletcher, Steven Naismith, there were a lot of lads in front of him. But for me he’s deserved his chance.”
Griffiths is often the villain when Rangers and Celtic play each other with his goading of fans while on the pitch and even on social media off it.
However, Gers fans will have also appreciated his contribution on Saturday with Scotland uniting as they looked to defeat England.
Now, the kind words shared between the two clubs are expected to come to a short end as the two Scottish giants prepare to compete against each other once more in the Premiership next season.
In other Rangers and Celtic news, this new Gers signing has labelled the club as the best in Scotland.
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.