How ex Celtic boss is shaping Rangers title winner's coaching career abroad after landing in new destination
A former Old Firm hero has been well travelled as he continues to learn his new trade under Ronny Deila
Kenny Miller enjoyed a trophy-laden career as a player - and now he wants to name for himself in the coaching sphere as part former Celtic manager Ronny Deila’s backroom staff.
The Rangers hero has followed the Norwegian boss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, having initially joined forces with Deila as assistant coach at MLS side Atlanta United back in January 2025.
The pair has struck up a fruitful partnership in the dugout since then, heading out to the Middle East where they took charge of Al Wahda FC before re-routing to the 26-time Israeli champions earlier this month.
It has been a hectic start to life in a conflict-affected nation for Miller and Deila, recording four wins and a draw in their first five games at the helm. For Miller, it’s another opportunity to use his expertise to help bring success back to a historic club that finished rock-bottom of the 36-team Europa League league phase earlier this season.
Discussing his time in Israel so far, Miller told GlasgowWorld and Spreadex Sports: “Yeah, it's been great. We've been thrust straight into games. We had only been here a couple of days and it was straight into Monday, Thursday, Monday games. We've had five matches since the start of the month with four wins in a draw, so it's been a decent start.
“It’s a big club with big expectations so it's good to work with a team that are looking to be challenging for prizes come the end of the season. There’s still a lot of work to be done between now and the end of the season but we've had a good start and long may that continue.”
Kenny Miller opens up on relationship with former Celtic boss
Miller has struck up a strong connection with Deila over the past 18 months and despite the controversy which surrounded the two-time Premiership title winning boss’ move to Israel in his homeland, the duo are reaping the benefits of their decision thus far.
“It's been good,” Miller stated. “We've had an exciting couple of years to be honest. We’ve been in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta and now we’ve obviously landed in Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israel so it's been good.
“For me personally, it's just more experience in coaching which is what I want to be doing now. We've landed in a good spot here. We've got a good situation going on, a really good group of players in place, a good staff here to work with and a solid ownership group as well that are supportive of things as well so we're on the right track.”
Despite being over 2,500 miles away from Scotland, Miller has been keeping a close eye on how the Premiership title race is developing back home and he predicts it will go right down to the wire.
Kenny Miller makes title race prediction ahead of Old Firm
For 138 years, Old Firm games between Rangers and Celtic have gone a long way to determining which half of Glasgow will lift the league crown, but that appears to be no longer the case with the sudden emergence of Hearts providing a new force to be reckoned with.
Miller has been very impressed by how Derek McInnes’ side have burst onto the scene, but he is refusing to rule out either of his former clubs from the silverware equation should Rangers or Celtic be on the losing side of Sunday’s clash at Ibrox.
He commented: “Hearts are in the driving seat, that’s for sure. Are they favourites at the moment? I'm still not sure. If Rangers or Celtic were to lose at the weekend, I still don't think it rules them out, particularly when you're going this home stretch and into the split when you're playing against the better teams.
“Even if Hearts were eight or nine points clear, you've got an Edinburgh derby, you've got a game against Rangers, you've got a game against Celtic, you've got a game against Motherwell, who have been a really exciting surprise package this year. So there's still a lot of points to be played for.
“What I will say through experience, the hardest thing to do when you're going for a league is getting over that finish line. That's where I still look at Celtic and think they've got a lot of experience in these situations. I don't think they've ever been pushed really as hard as what they have done and it’s quite a bad situation they've found themselves in over the course of the season.
“They're really getting a test this year but their players have been over the course and distance, they know what it takes to win leagues and cups. So yeah, it's a really big game for both of the Old Firm clubs at the weekend. I don't think it's win or bust for either but what it would do is it would make it really tough for them to get back into the title race.”