Lee Naylor has joined in the dirty war over Kenny Miller.
For a month now the simmering bad blood between the striker and Pedro Caixinha has been making the headlines with both parties keen to sling the mud as discreetly as possible.
Caixinha has the upper hand at the moment but the club won’t be able to ditch Miller until January with a number of tricky fixtures to be negotiated before then including away days at Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs.
While the row has frustrated Rangers having every detail broadcast through the Daily Record appears to be a bigger source of frustration despite the club’s attempts at news management.
Naylor played with Miller at Celtic, Wolves and Cardiff City and now works alongside agent Dave Baldwin who has managed Miller for more than a decade.
Speaking exclusively with the inside track on the dispute to the Daily Record Naylor claimed: “Maybe the manager fears Kenny because he is someone who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
“Kenny has always been someone to speak his mind but only a positive way and he’s intelligent enough to go about it in the right way.
“I don’t know exactly what has gone on but I can’t imagine Kenny being a bad egg and it’s embarrassing the way it’s dragged on.
“You would have to ask the manager why the club haven’t cleared up the situation but I’m sure Kenny is going in every day and training as hard as he ever would.
“If something was truly wrong then why doesn’t someone just say something? As far as knowing the truth, I’m as in the dark as anyone but I just don’t think it’s fair that a professional, especially one coming to the end of his career, is having his reputation tarnished.
“Listen, I’m a Celtic man. I love Celtic. But Kenny’s my pal and I just can’t have him being portrayed as a bad egg.
“Kenny is at a stage in his career where he doesn’t need to be a bad influence so it doesn’t make sense at all.”
What Miller thinks Naylor says and the Record publishes.