Alex Miller leads tributes to team-mate Johnny Hamilton

Hamilton died on Saturday after a long battle with illness. Piocture: SNS

ALEX Miller has paid tribute to former Rangers player Johnny Hamilton, who died on Saturday at the age of 66 after a long illness.

Miller, a former team-mate at Ibrox, revealed how Hamilton earned the respect of the Rangers players with his work-rate in training to become a Treble star.

Hamilton arrived at Rangers with a reputation for enjoying a night out when he signed on a free transfer from Hibs in 1973.

However, he soon won over his team-mates with his attitude in training under the tough regime imposed by legendary manager Jock Wallace and was a key player in the mid-1970s.

Hamilton played 78 times and scored eight goals in five years at Ibrox, winning the Championship and the Scottish Cup in the 1975-76 Treble season and then the League Cup in 1977-78 when Rangers claimed all three honours again.

According to former Hibs and Aberdeen manager Miller, Hamilton was a great man to have in the side to complement the skills of others around him.

Miller said: “Dingy liked the bright lights, let’s say, and when he came to Rangers he was joining a group of players who had been together for a long time.

“The one thing he hated doing was running, but, in fairness to him, he worked really hard in training to show everyone that he wanted to be a success.