Scott McDonald: Kenny Miller could have been Celtic legend if he stayed

Jun 22 2008 Euan Mclean

SCOTT McDONALD reckons Kenny Miller would have been a Celtic hero last season had he stuck around to partner him at Parkhead.

Now the Aussie fears Miller could prove his class against the Hoops after showing huge guts by braving a fans' backlash over his summer return to Rangers.

McDonald counted the 28-year-old Scotland hitman as a team-mate for the first month of last season before Celtic flogged Miller in a £3million move to Derby County.

Miller's English Premiership adventure didn't work out as the struggling Rams were relegated while McDonald, in stark contrast, went on to enjoy a stunning season bagging 31 goals for Celtic.

Now Skippy says it will be bizarre going up against his ex-team-mate in the SPL - but tipped Miller to deliver enough goals to silence the Ibrox critics who have made it clear they don't want him back at the club.

McDonald said: "It will be funny to see Kenny run out in blue for the first Old Firm game of the season but I'm sure he's ready for all the stick.

"Kenny is a good lad and I wish him all the best.

"I feel if he had stayed here it could have been a very good season for him as he got off to a good start.

"He then went to Derby, started well again and then the team began to struggle which didn't help him.

"But I'm sure he'll be back in the goals up here. He has shown a lot of guts and it reveals the true character of the man and his mindset that he feels he can deal with the situation.

"It's going to be a very difficult spot he's in but he will be prepared and I'm sure he'll get through it."

While Miller failed to score enough goals during his stint at Parkhead to convince the fans of his worth as a striker the same can't be said of Aussie ace McDonald.

The 24-year-old hitman quickly established himself as a firm fans' favourite following his £750,000 summer switch from Motherwell with his superb goals tally helping fire his new side to the title.

But more important to McDonald than winning over the supporters is repaying his personal debt to Hoops boss Gordon Strachan for the influence he has had on his career.

The way he sees it Strachan (below) made him the player he is today by DUMPING him when he was a cocky kid at Southampton.

And after putting his name to a new five-year deal last week McDonald revealed he is still learning from the gaffer who gave him his harshest lesson by sending him out on loan during his early days at Southampton.

He said: "I've never really spoken to the gaffer about Southampton because it's history. It's been brought up that we had problems together but we parted on good terms.

"He just felt at that time I wasn't going to get into his team and needed to go out and get the experience I needed.

"I had to get out and become a man. What he did then as a manager has probably made me the player I am now.

"Mind you I didn't feel like that at the time. It's easy for me to say it now looking back but at the time it was a real blow, especially as I had already made my first-team debut.

"When you do that at that age you tend to think that's it, I've made it now and it gets easier from here.

"Of course it's not like that and I learned that very quickly. I believe I am a better person and a better player for having learned that."

Scott admits Strachan is still a big influence and has no hesitation in crediting his gaffer's leadership as the main reason behind Celtic's gutsy fightback to snatch the SPL title on the last day of the season.

Just weeks before that final-day drama most pundits expected Rangers to win the league and that Strachan would then quit Celtic in the summer.

And McDonald regrets one moment of petulance in April that heaped more pressure on his underfire gaffer during a damaging defeat by 10-man Motherwell at Parkhead.

Throwing a tantrum in the dugout after he'd been substituted only fuelled speculation that Strachan had lost respect in the dressing room.

But McDonald insists that was never the case and he regrets pouring fuel on the fire.

He said: "A small gesture at a big club can mean more than it would elsewhere. I knew as soon as I threw the tracksuit top that I'd messed up and I then had to try and find a hiding spot in the dugout.

"I felt it was important to come out quickly and apologise after that.

"Everybody was asking for the gaffer's head at that point but we were always fully behind him.

"The league comeback showed the true strength of the team and the boss - he never stopped believing.

"I'm learning from the gaffer all the time and love working for him.

"He has a fire in his belly and was determined to make us successful last season and it'll be the same again this season."