Source: Team_Talk
Miller urges critics to lay off Ferguson
Ferguson, who is Miller's captain both at Rangers and at international level, has come under fire for a series of unconvincing performances for club and country this season.[LNB]Miller, however, believes recent criticism of the 31-year-old has been unjustified and backed him to prove the doubters wrong.[LNB]"One time you're the best thing since sliced bread; next thing, you're the worst player to pull on the shirt," said Miller, who has endured his fair share of stick for spurning an early chance in Scotland's 3-0 defeat in Holland on Saturday.[LNB]"We've all been there, Barry probably more so than some others.[LNB]"But he's dealt with it before, come through it and shown people what he's about.[LNB]"Personally, I do think it's unwarranted this time. I feel he's been getting better and better."[LNB]With Scotland slipping to third in qualifying Group Nine as a result of Saturday's defeat in Amsterdam, Miller knows anything other than victory on Wednesday could deal a fatal blow to their hopes of reaching the World Cup finals.[LNB]"We've got to make sure against Iceland we win," Miller told Rangers World.[LNB]"It's a home game; even though we've had some good away results in the past, all our successful campaigns have been built on solid home form, especially at Hampden.[LNB]"The atmosphere is fantastic and on Wednesday night it'll not be any different so we need to make sure we pick up three points and stay in touch for that second spot."[LNB]Miller made his full Scotland debut in a European Championship qualifier against Iceland almost exactly six years ago and responded with an early goal in a 2-1 win.[LNB]"It was a very tough game," he said.[LNB]"I managed to score in the 10th or 11th minute, which was a dream start, not just for myself but for the team.[LNB]"At the start of the second half it went to 1-1 but then big Lee Wilkie popped up with a goal and then we won the game 2-1.[LNB]"It was a big result for us at the time after what had been a bit of a shaky start to that campaign as well. It got us back on track."[LNB]Scotland won by the same scoreline in September in a tense affair in Reykjavik, and Miller is expecting Iceland to pose plenty of problems at Hampden.[LNB]He said: "I've played them a few times in the past few years and in the away game there, we could have quite easily been one or 2-0 down.[LNB]"But we managed to weather a wee storm and get our noses in front and then get another goal.[LNB]"Towards the end, we were kind of hanging on.[LNB]"So we know it's going to be a tough game; they have got some good players, but we're aware of that and we'll be ready for it."[LNB][LNB] Scotland 1/2, Draw 13/5, Iceland 11/2
