Miller honoured to be Scotland captain and vows to lead like Ince

(GETTY IMAGES)

Kenny Miller has accepted with honour the Scotland captaincy for the first time in his career – and will use the former England captain Paul Ince as his role model.

In the absence of the injured Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, the Bursaspor striker, 31, will lead Craig Levein's side out at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin tonight for their Carling Nations Cup game against Northern Ireland.

Miller, who will win his 52nd cap, has played under numerous captains during his career but paid tribute to his former Wolverhampton team-mate Ince. "Paul Ince, who I played with at Wolves for a few years, was a fantastic captain," Miller said. "He was a fantastic role model, he had mental toughness and was a great captain to play under. So if you need any example of how to lead you just have to look at him. I have never been captain before.

"It is an absolute honour and when I look back on it – and hopefully it will be a positive result – it will be one of the highlights of my career."

Miller admits he already has some of the attributes associated with Ince. "I don't think I will change much from the way I am as a player," he said. "I am bossy, moaning and demanding on the pitch anyway so I won't really change much – I am tailor-made for it. It's a proud, proud moment in my career. To lead your country in any game is a dream for any kid starting out in football so I'm over the moon.

"Darren is captain, that has been made quite clear and also, if Gary Caldwell had been fit he might have had the armband. So I am not under any illusions that I will be taking the captaincy. It will be a major honour to have it for this game and obviously when Darren is back he will be captain."

The former Rangers and Celtic forward, who moved to Turkey from Ibrox during last month's transfer window, admits he will miss the four Old Firm games which will take place before the end of the season. The Glasgow giants will meet in the Scottish Cup fifth-round replay at Celtic Park and the Co-operative Insurance Cup final, as well as having to fit in two Scottish Premier League games before the season is over.

Miller will watch with interest from afar and believes either club could end up with the treble. He said: "You miss those games, that's a given when you play for Rangers or Celtic.

"I will be glued to the television for the Scottish Cup replay, the Co-operative Insurance Cup final and the two SPL games which will have a big say in who is going to win the league.

"It's nip and tuck to be honest with you. Rangers have an opportunity to go ahead in the league with their games in hand but some people would say they would much rather have the points in the bag so it's anyone's league at the moment."