It didn’t take Rangers long to shake off the lethargy of the Pedro Caixinha era as they visited Hearts’ temporary home of Murrayfield and emerged with a well-deserved 3-1 victory.
Perhaps the most fitting aspect of the afternoon was that it was Kenny Miller who played a starring role for the Gers as they recovered from a goal down to secure three points that have breathed new life into a season that was in danger of stagnating following last weekend’s shock League Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Motherwell.
Miller was not only recalled by interim boss Graeme Murty, but symbolically handed the captain’s armband having been banished from first-team duty by Caixinha, who parted company with the club earlier this week following a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock at Ibrox.
This was night and day to the teams the Portuguese deployed, however.
Although they lacked fluency at the beginning, there were at least signs of enthusiasm and fight – the aggression that the Portuguese had previously castigated other teams for having the audacity to use against his own.
Still, before Miller took centre stage to score his 149th and 150th goals in Scottish football, there was a setback for the visiting side. Kyle Lafferty opened the scoring with a picture-perfect free kick that bent into the top corner, and if Ross Callachan had succeeded in beating Wes Foderingham when clear on goal a minute later the outcome might have been very different.
Instead, this proved a watershed moment that allowed Rangers to find their feet and even level before the break.
Miller was operating dangerously in the No.10 role behind Alferdo Morelos, and his performance was typified with his opening goal. He timed a run perfectly beyond the Colombian forward to latch onto his teammate’s pass and clip a shot into the goal, albeit with the help of a deflection.
Morelos is a player who has come under fire himself in recent weeks, despite leading the league’s scoring charts. His seven-match run without finding the net would continue in Edinburgh, yet there is no question that his hold up play to fashion Miller’s opening goal was of a first-rate variety.
Having heaved themselves on terms, Rangers went on to dominate the second half. Nevertheless, it took them 20 minutes to make the decisive breakthrough, but when it arrived it was once again Miller who provided it, once again breaking into the box in a timely fashion to head home a fine delivery from Jordan Rossiter.
Tellingly, a player who has frustrated Rangers fans for much of this season had his name chanted by the huge travelling support, who appeared very much back on side with the team after months of embarrassing turmoil on the field.
A third followed from Josh Windass, but the game was all about the renaissance of both Rangers and Miller.
“It’s great to be back involved. It’s been a tough month,” he told BT Sport after the game as he refused to disclose exactly what had gone on behind closed doors with the Portuguese – a subject that will, no doubt, refuse to lie still in the weeks ahead.
“I enjoy training every day. That never changed, there just wasn’t a game at the end of it. I always had belief I’d be back in a Rangers jersey.”
The 37-year-old, whose appetite for the game remains undiminished, showed his former boss that he had deprived his side not only of a goal scorer, but of an on-field leader – exactly the type of player who was required when Rangers had their backs to the wall in recent matches.
He would have been a perfect option when chasing a goal against Motherwell, yet the manager chose instead to have him watch from the stands.
For Miller, though, that is history. Now it is all about making up for lost time.
