THE startling transformation which Celtic have undergone since Brendan Rodgers was appointed manager just shy of a year ago has been difficult for anyone of a Rangers persuasion to bear witness to.

But the impressive way that Rodgers has successfully resurrected the Parkhead outfit’s fortunes in the last 12 months has given Kenny Miller hope the Ibrox club can savour an identical revival next season.

The Irishman effectively signed just two first team players – striker Moussa Demeble and winger Scott Sinclair – after succeeding the beleaguered Ronny Deila last May for little more than £4 million.

Yes, Kristoffer Ajer, Dorus de Vries, Cristian Gamboa, Kolo Toure and, during the January transfer window, Eboue Kouassi were all brought in as well. None of that quintet, though, has featured regularly.

Despite that, Celtic have still gone from being outplayed by their city rivals, who were in the Ladbrokes Championship at the time, in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final to acquitting themselves superbly in Europe and brushing aside all before them domestically.

For Miller, who last month signed a one year extension to his contract that keeps him at Rangers until 2018, that underlines what can be achieved with the right man at the helm and with shrewd recruitment.

“It has been as frustrating a season as any I can remember,” he said. “It’s not as if I’ve constantly dealt with success and always been winning things in my career. But, with the demands and expectations of this club, including the demands we put on ourselves as players, it’s been highly frustrating.

“We have seen flashes of brilliance throughout the season, some scintillating stuff, and then moments of madness as well. The inconsistency has been there for all to see. If we are going to have any sort of success, whether in league or cups, we will need a higher level of consistency and performance next season.

“It sounds a huge task. I know Celtic were champions last year, but they weren’t great and we saw that in the semi-final. I know we only won on penalties, but I felt we were closer to them on the day. We were the better football team. We looked like we had a better game plan.

“Look what a manager and a few big name signings can do. Better quality, higher-quality signings and then reinvigorating the good players that were there. We can look at that.

“No doubt there will be people coming and going in the summer. But if we can get that right, win football matches at the start of next season and breed confidence in what we are trying to achieve then that will set you up for a far better start to the campaign.”

Miller continued: “We can’t be looking at what other people are doing and what they have done. But the fact is that the majority of them are international footballers and what has happened is that the manager has come in and given them belief and understanding of what they are trying to do.

“They are decent players. You don’t play international for the likes of Sweden and Scotland without being decent players. Guys are starting to make their way into the international game and are getting the recognition they deserve, Stuart Armstrong has had a great season. They are signing players and they are reinvigorating good players. It doesn’t take a lot to achieve that.”

Miller is confident that Pedro Caixinha, the new Rangers manager who is in the process of releasing the individuals who he deems surplus to requirements and bringing in replacements capable of challenging for major honours, will be able to improve the quality of the squad and the performances of the team.

The Portuguese coach, who was a surprise choice to replace Mark Warburton back in March, has failed to convince many supporters he is the right man for the job and concerns about his suitability for the role have grown following successive defeats to Celtic in the cup and league last month.

His forward, however, believes the new recruits may be able to execute the former Uniao Leiria, Nacional, Santos Laguna and Al-Gharafa manager’s game plan with greater effectiveness in the 2017/18 campaign than they have done to date.

“Summer becomes crucial,” he said. “The detail in the work we’ve being doing so far has been very good. But it’s not my job and is above my pay grade as to how many players we’re going to being in, who we’re going to bring in and which guys might not be here. That’s down to the manager to sort out. So bringing the quality he’s hoping to bring in will be crucial to us being better and carry the manager’s instructions out better.”

Miller, who won three consecutive Scottish titles during the second of his three spells at Rangers, believes it is vital the Ibrox club get off to a better start next term and perform more consistently if they are to vie with Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and other top flight clubs for silverware.

“European football has been achieved which is a step in the right direction from where we were,” he said. “But it’s hard to look at finishing third as an achievement. It’s not where we want to be as a football club.

“The ultimate goal is to get back and be in a far stronger position next year. There is a hell of a lot we need to improve upon. Without sounding boring or repetitive, to win a league you need to be consistent.

“You can lose games playing well, when things go against you, or you can win games when you don’t play as well. That’s the ingredients of a successful season and it’s something we haven’t done.”