It just had to happen, didn’t it? A few days after Pedro has exited the club Kenny Miller not only starting the game at Murrayfield but also as captain. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t all too comfortable with both those statements, even more so the captaincy but I’ll let you into a little secret, I love being proven wrong.
So let’s rewind four weeks and start from the beginning, after the Celtic defeat at Ibrox the manager had a meeting with the squad and allegedly aimed the blame at the homegrown players. Of course, this is all media speculation and we’ll probably never find out what happened inside the dressing room but it’s fair to say Kenny took most of the blame. Graham Dorrans was also given both barrels for handing Miller the armband after coming on without being Instructed.
Rumors were rife on social media and the in the national papers that Kenny had been axed from the squad and ordered to train with the U20 squad. He was also left out the squad that was supposed to be travelling to Toronto for a game during the international break, Pedro also refused to confirm why he was left out of the squad.
Make no bones about it, Kenny’s form up to this point had been terrible and it was now claimed that it was Kenny leaking the details of the dressing room bust-up to the press. Once the fans caught wind of Kenny allegedly being the “leak” all hell broke loose. Condemnation from everywhere was pouring in and it was looking more and more likely it was him feeding the press info. Personally, I found it hard to believe such a great servant to the club could stoop so low, fellow pro’s and pundits always claim Kenny is the perfect professional and conducts himself perfectly at every opportunity.
This was one of the main reasons I refused to believe he could be the “rat” everyone was claiming he was. I had always viewed him in the same regard as many others but the rumours were so strong I was starting to doubt myself. I was still struggling to believe a player who had just been granted a one-year contract extension to turn around and stab his manager in the back.
So after the match against Hearts where Kenny made his return under caretaker manager Graeme Murty, not only did he bag two important goals, he also returned to the pitch as the captain. Many of the fans I chatted to one the way to the game were hesitant that he was back in the squad due to his poor form but he managed not only to silence a vast majority of his doubters many were singing his name during the game.
I don’t think we’ll ever get to the bottom of what happened between Pedro and Miller but it’s clear Miller wants to stay and prove himself as a worthy squad member and try and banish the rat stigma that is now hanging over his name