| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex Miller | ||
| Date of birth | 4 July 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Clydebank Strollers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1967–1982 | Rangers | 197 | (17) |
| 1983 | South China | ||
| 1983 | Morton | 8 | (1) |
| Total | 205 | (18) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1983 | South China | ||
| 1983 | Morton | ||
| 1983–1986 | St. Mirren | ||
| 1986–1996 | Hibernian | ||
| 1997–1998 | Aberdeen | ||
| 2008–2009 | JEF United Chiba | ||
| 2010 | AIK | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Alex Miller (born 4 July 1949) is a Scottish association football coach and former player. As a player, he had a 15 year career with Rangers. As a manager, he won the 1991 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian. He subsequently worked for Premier League club Liverpool for nine years,[1] assisting Gerard Houllier and Rafael Benítez.
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As a player Miller started out his career with Clydebank Strollers before he made the move to Rangers. Miller played for Rangers 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 Rangers and scored 30 goals.
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.[2] He was then briefly manager of Greenock Morton in 1983 before contentiously joining their rivals from Paisley, St. Mirren, 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 Final, 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 Hibernian from 1986 to 1996, through a "difficult" period in the clubs history, as the club came through financial problems.[1][3] He led Hibs to victory in the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup,[1] beating Rangers in the semi finals (1–0) and Dunfermline Athletic in the final (2–0). Hibs qualified for the UEFA Cup, losing on the away goals rule to RSC Anderlecht. Hibs reached the 1993 Scottish League Cup Final, but this time lost out to Rangers (1–2). Hibs finished the 1994–95 season in third place in the league. Miller was sacked by Hibs in 1996, with some observers accusing him of having betrayed Hibs' "cavalier ideals".[1]
He then moved to Coventry City as assistant manager. A year later, unable to resist the challenge of being his own man again, he moved to Aberdeen taking over the manager's post from Roy Aitken. However this stint was not a successful one and he was replaced in 1998 by Paul Hegarty.
Miller joined English Premiership side Liverpool as Director of Scouting under Gérard Houllier in 1999. However, when Rafael Benítez 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.[4][5] Despite taking over the club when they had taken just two points from eleven games, Miller managed to guide the team to safety from relegation.[6] However, following a string of poor results in the next season, Miller's contract was terminated by the club in July 2009.[7]
Miller was appointed manager of Swedish team AIK in June 2010.[8] He left in November 2010, after less than five months in charge.[9][10] AIK had been in some danger of relegation when Miller was appointed, but they eventually finished 11th in the 16-team division.[10]
| 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 |
Two of Miller's sons, Graeme and Greg, both played for Hibs while Miller was manager there. Miller also employed Greg as a coach while he was manager of JEF United Chiba.[1]
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| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Peter Wong |
South China manager 1982–83 |
Succeeded by Ng Wai Man |