Alex Miller is a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
association football
coachIn sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and former player. As a player, he had a 15 year career with
RangersRangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
. As a manager, he won the
1991 Scottish League CupThe 1991–92 Scottish League Cup was the 46th staging of Scotland's second most prestigious football knockout competition. The competition was sponsored by Skol and was also known as the Skol Cup....
with
HibernianHibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
. He subsequently worked for Premier League club
LiverpoolLiverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
for nine years, assisting
Gerard HoullierGérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
and
Rafael BenítezRafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
.
Playing career
As a player Miller started out his career with Clydebank Strollers before he made the move to Rangers. Miller played for
RangersRangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
from 1967 until 1982 before finishing his playing career in Hong Kong. He was something of a legend at Ibrox having played in a Scottish Cup Final despite having a broken jaw. He made 306 appearances during his spell at
RangersRangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and scored 30 goals.
Coaching career
Miller was appointed as player-manager when he played briefly for South China in Hong Kong in 1983, but was unable to save the club from relegation. He was then briefly manager of
Greenock MortonGreenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....
in
1983The 1983–84 season was the 87th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: AberdeenRelegated: St...
before contentiously joining their rivals from
PaisleyPaisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
,
St. MirrenSt Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
, who were at that time in a higher division.
Miller managed St. Mirren from 1983 until 1986. He moulded a side that would win the
1987 Scottish Cup FinalThe 1987 Scottish Cup Final was played between St. Mirren and Dundee United at Hampden Park on 16 May 1987.Underdogs St Mirren won the game 1–0, with a goal by Ian Ferguson. It was their third Scottish Cup win in their 110 year history....
, later in the season that he left the club. Miller guided St. Mirren to qualification for European competition. One of Saints all time great nights came in a European campaign when in 1985, Slavia Prague were knocked out after a 3–0 Saints win at Love Street.
He was then manager of
HibernianHibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
from 1986 to 1996, through a "difficult" period in the clubs history, as the club came through financial problems. He led
HibsHibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
to victory in the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup, beating Rangers in the semi finals (1–0) and
Dunfermline AthleticDunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
in the
finalThe 1991 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 27 October 1991 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 46th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Hibernian and Dunfermline Athletic. Hibernian won the match 2–0, thanks to goals from Tommy McIntyre and Keith...
(2–0). Hibs qualified for the
UEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, losing on the away goals rule to RSC Anderlecht. Hibs reached the
1993 Scottish League Cup FinalThe 1993 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 24 October 1993, at Celtic Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 48th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Rangers and Hibernian. Rangers won the match 2–1 thanks to goals by Ian Durrant and Ally McCoist.-Match...
, but this time lost out to Rangers (1–2). Hibs finished the
1994–95 seasonThe 1994–95 season was the 98th season of competitive football in Scotland. This season seen the re-introduction of the Scottish 3rd division, after an absence of 26 years, and also the introduction of three points for a win being awarded instead of just two.-Notable events:*Raith Rovers...
in third place in the league. Miller was sacked by
HibsHibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
in 1996, with some observers accusing him of having betrayed Hibs' "cavalier ideals".
He then moved to
Coventry CityCoventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
as assistant manager. A year later, unable to resist the challenge of being his own man again, he moved to
AberdeenAberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
taking over the manager's post from
Roy AitkenRobert Sime "Roy" Aitken is a former footballer who went on to become a coach with clubs including Leeds United and Aston Villa. His position as a player was defence.Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, he grew up in Ardrossan...
. However this stint was not a successful one and he was replaced in 1998 by
Paul HegartyPaul Anthony "Heggie" Hegarty is a Scottish former football player, who was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s and won eight international caps for Scotland...
.
Miller joined English Premiership side
LiverpoolLiverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
as Director of Scouting under
Gérard HoullierGérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
in 1999. However, when
Rafael BenítezRafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
was appointed manager of Liverpool in 2004, he overhauled the scouting system. Miller then subsequently worked as first team coach, before leaving Liverpool in May 2008 to manage Japanese side JEF United Chiba. Despite taking over the club when they had taken just two points from eleven games, Miller managed to guide the team to
safety from relegationThe 2008 J. League Division 1 season is the 44th season of the top-flight club football in Japan and the 16th season since the establishment of J1 League. The season began on March 8 and ended on December 6....
. However, following a string of poor results in the next season, Miller's contract was terminated by the club in July 2009.
Miller was appointed manager of
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
team
AIKAIK, , an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, , when needed internationally AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre...
in June 2010. He left in November 2010, after less than five months in charge. AIK had been in some danger of relegation when Miller was appointed, but they eventually finished 11th in the 16-team division.
Managerial record
| Team |
From |
To |
Games |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
| St Mirren |
01-08-1983 |
16-12-1986 |
|
|
|
|
| Hibernian |
15-11-1986 |
30-09-1996 |
|
|
|
|
| Aberdeen |
21-11-1997 |
08-12-1998 |
43 |
11 |
19 |
13 |
| AIK |
22-06-2010 |
10-11-2010 |
24 |
9 |
11 |
4 |
Personal life
Two of Miller's sons,
GraemeGraeme Miller is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker.-Career:Born in Glasgow, Miller began his career with Tynecastle, before turning professional with Hibernian in 1992...
and
GregGreg Miller is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.-Career:Miller began his career with Hutcheson Vale, before turning professional in 1995 with Hibernian. Over the next two seasons, Miller made 15 appearances in the Scottish Football League, scoring one goal...
, both played for
HibsHibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
while Miller was manager there. Miller also employed Greg as a coach while he was manager of JEF United Chiba.
External links