Miller-Boyd combo earns kudos but Smith has options aplenty in attack

WHEN RANGERS manager Walter Smith names his side for today's crunch SPL match against Hibs at Easter Road, a great deal will be divined from the strikeforce that he picks. Smith is a man who believes in having a lot of options, but more and more fans and pundits, and perhaps Smith himself, are beginning to believe that pairing Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller up front could be the best combination for Rangers, as well as Scotland.

Perhaps surprisingly, the two have started only five games together for either club or country, against the Faroes in 2006 and Georgia last year, where they notched four goals between them, and against Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Motherwell this season, Boyd's double against Killie being their sole counters when both have started for Rangers.

Boyd is by far the better marksman of the two. In their last 100 senior appearances, with the figure comprising club and country, Miller has netted 24 goals and Boyd a massive 61.

Their styles of play could not be more contrasting. The busy bee Miller is perpetual motion around the pitch, but his finishing is suspect, despite his double against Celtic which has effectively silenced the Ibrox boo boys – "hopefully, that's it put to bed", he said on Friday, while sporting the remnants of a black eye gained against Motherwell. He was adamant that he would be fully fit to play today.

Boyd, on the other hand, is the poacher supreme, almost languid until in goal range where he transforms into one of the best finishers Scotland has produced in years, as his thunderous strike against Partick Thistle in midweek amply displayed. Now the duo have formed a mutual admiration society to plead with managers Smith and George Burley to give them more outings as a strikeforce.

"I have said all along, even when I played with Scotland, that Kenny's a terrific asset for me, especially because he does a lot of the things that I don't do and vice versa," said Boyd.

"Kenny works really, really hard and gets his goal. I have worked hard on the other side of my game and hopefully I am starting to get bits and pieces.

"Every striker prefers to play with a partner, but sometimes with the fixtures it just doesn't happen. Hopefully I can keep my place in the team and me and Kenny can go on from here."

For his part, Miller is enjoying playing alongside a man he counts as a mate as well as a colleague. After waxing lyrical about Boyd's goal at Firhill, he gave his analysis of their partnership.

"The Kilmarnock game was our first real outing together and it was good that Kris got the two goals," he said. "Last week against Motherwell, it never really fell for either of us though we created plenty of chances. We could have scored four or five if we had been a bit more clinical.

"Any partnership needs time. Me and Boydie get on well off the field and our games can work together on the pitch, but the most important thing is that we are creating chances as a team. Yes, our games are different, but hopefully we can gel together and both of us can score a lot of goals and play our part in winning the championship and the two cups.

"It's too simple to say that I do the running and he scores the goal. There's a lot more to it than that. In some games I will score and he won't, which knocks that theory. But I will be more than happy if I play every game and we win the league and the cups, if I don't score and Boydie scores 50."

The Rangers manager also appreciates the complementary styles of his two players, but as always with Smith, he prefers to keep his selection choices open.

He said: "We know that Kenny has the capability to work outside the penalty area while Kris's main asset is obviously his finishing within the penalty area, so from that point of view they are a good partnership.

"We had a situation at Celtic Park where Kris didn't play but we managed to score a lot of goals which not a lot of teams do there, so it doesn't always mean that we have to play both of them to win a game. We do have different options."

Indeed, Smith has almost an embarrassment of riches up front, and will soon have no fewer than six strikers who can do a variety of jobs – Miller, Boyd, Nacho Novo, Jean-Claude Darcheville have all played their parts while Andrius Velicka is recovering from sickness and Kyle Lafferty is back from a back injury and an operation to remove a septic wisdom tooth.

Mentioning options, Walter Smith has heaped high praise on Kirk Broadfoot, the defender who famously showed that Scotland manager George Burley's description of his "limited ability" was possibly wide of the mark by promptly scoring on his international debut. Smith actually agrees with Burley, having read the full quotes.

"He has been terrific and I felt that George was praising him and everybody was taking it in the wrong manner," said Smith. "If you look at any boy wanting to become a professional footballer and he had Kirk Broadfoot's attitude, then he would have a real chance.

"George wasn't demeaning Kirk in any way, and what he said was correct. I don't think in my time I've met a player who better makes the most of what he's got. He's a terrific professional and has been great for us since he came from St Mirren.

"Full-back is probably his best position and with a bit of improvement in his crosses he could be exceptional. But I wouldn't like to tie him down as he has played very well at centre-half as well."

Smith clearly likes having the ability to choose from a variety of options, as his players all know. But if they stay in form, Broadfoot and the pairing of Miller and Boyd will surely hope to remain his first choices.