Kenny Miller always knew he would return to Rangers - even after joining Celtic.
The former Scotland international - who turned out for both halves of the Glasgow divide during his playing career - lifted the lid on the moves to the rivals while he also revealed how he could have ended up the first player in history to turn out for both clubs in the SAME season.
The 43-year-old left Rangers for the first time in 2001 for a move down south to join Wolves. He spent a lengthy spell in England before joining Celtic on a pre-contract agreement during Gordon Strachan's reign as boss. His time at Parkhead was short-lived as he made a return to English football with Derby County.
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Miller says he would have made the move to Rangers FROM Celtic had the opportunity ever presented itself while he admitted he nearly moved to Ibrox just months after joining Derby from the Hoops but the three team rule in one season meant that couldn't materialise.
Speaking on the 'Off The Record' podcast, he explained: ”I just knew I would end up back there at some point. I knew it. It could have maybe happened a bit earlier but I waited - it was seven years I was away from the club - before I came back in 2008 under Walter. It was just something, I just knew. Even with what happened with me going to Celtic in 2006/07. I still had that belief that something is going to happen and I’ll find my way back there.”
He continued: “If there was an opportunity to do it then I would have done it, yeah. It will never happen but if the opportunity had been there then I wouldn’t have turned it down, particularly at that time.
“Again, I’ll say it now and I’ll say it a million times, I always believed I would play for Rangers again. I did from the minute I left in 2001. But I do also believe had it not been Walter who was there then I wouldn’t have got that opportunity.
"Everything kind of aligned at that time. It wasn’t just because he was strong and he believed in his convictions. It was also because I had worked with him with the Scotland team. He knew who I was and what I could bring and the benefits it would be to his team.
“If it had been somebody else we might not have had that relationship and they wouldn’t know. They’d be looking at it saying, ‘Wait a minute, we can sign this guy but he was playing Celtic last year? No chance!’. I do believe that’s bang on and that’s why I say I do believe everything aligned at that time for that to happen. I was ready for it. I had worked with the gaffer and Ally at Scotland so when they went back there it was like, ‘Right OK, this could be it. This could be my chance to get back there!’.
“We were maybe going to try to do it in January. But, because I had played a couple of games for Celtic at the start of that season and then moved to Derby, you can’t play for three teams in the same footballing year, so that killed it off which I was disappointed about. I was looking at every possible loophole to see if there was a way it could be done that January. I could have been the first player to play for both halves of the Old Firm in the same season. Incredible eh? That would have been a good quiz question! But unfortunately it never happened because of the three team rule.”
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