Miller says new signings can give Rangers a spark

Kenny Miller reckons the prospect of fresh recruits checking in at Ibrox next month will give Rangers their spark back.

Saturday's 2-1 defeat away to third-placed Falkirk has allowed title rivals Hibernian to move level on points at the top of the Ladbrokes Championship, with only goal difference now keeping Mark Warburton's team in front.

Gers - who had a perfect league record up until the start of November - have now dropped 10 points in the two months since losing to Alan Stubbs' men at Easter Road.

The Leith men have blown the promotion battle wide open and both side's transfer dealings during the

January window could now prove decisive.

Warburton plans to bring in a couple of new faces and Miller believes that will also force his current crop to up their game.

The former Scotland hitman said: The manager has said he only wants to bring players in who are going to strengthen the group.

So in that respect it's either going to strengthen the team or really kick the lads on who are in the team to keep hold of that jersey.''

Rangers were undone by the Bairns, but only after Peter Houston's men were given a helping hand by referee Willie Collum.

The official awarded the hosts a penalty after just three minutes despite Gers defender Danny Wilson fouling Will Vaulks a yard outside the box.

John Baird tucked away the spot-kick but Barrie McKay levelled for Rangers after 16 minutes as he drove home from Nathan Oduwa's cut-back.

Gers continued to look uneasy when pressurised by Falkirk and conceded again 10 minutes into the second half as Vaulks fired home after Oduwa needlessly conceded a corner.

The drama was not over there as Collum - the only Scottish official heading to Euro 2016 - gave another strange penalty, this time punishing Blair Alston for handball, even though there seemed to be no clear infringement.

Justice was done, though, as Danny Rogers produced a fine save to push Martyn Waghorn's effort onto the post as Falkirk claimed a win which leaves them just six points off the summit.

Rangers, though, will be alarmed at the rapid rate of their decline - with memories of the swashbuckling football produced in the opening weeks of Warburton's reign fading fast.

But Miller insists there is no chance his side are suffering a repeat of the collapse which cost them promotion last season.

Asked if the side saw shades of that nightmare run creeping into their current performances, Miller replied: I wouldn't say so, not when you win 12 in a row at the start of the season. We didn't do that last season.

Of late, fair enough, I can see where you're going, but it's definitely not shades of last season.

Teams are not going to roll over and allow us to play the beautiful game we want to play - we've got to go and earn that right.

That means doing the right things, not giving up goals and giving teams something to hold onto. The last couple of weeks we've been chasing games which is a new thing for us.

Can we regain that early-season form? Definitely, absolutely no doubt about it. We've got too many good players in there. We dominate the ball every week but we need to make more of the possession that we've got and create more chances.''

Rangers now face a huge clash with Hibs at Ibrox a week on Monday but Miller said: The game was always going to be a big game no matter what the points difference was. We just need to get back to winning ways now.''