KENNY Miller, who is poised to be appointed as player-manager of Ladbrokes Premiership new boys Livingston this week, has been warned he will struggle to combine the roles and keep the West Lothian club in the top flight next season.

Miller has emerged as the favourite to succeed David Hopkin, who left the Almondvale outfit in the summer shortly after securing promotion via the play-offs, following talks with officials.

The 38-year-old, who left Rangers in acrimonious circumstances this summer after being suspended and then fined by the Ibrox club, is believed to be keen to play on as well as manage.

Several big names have done that successfully in the past – most notably Tommy Burns at Kilmarnock, Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool, Ruud Gullit at Chelsea, Glenn Hoddle at Swindon Town and Chelsea and Graeme Souness at Rangers.

Yet, it will be a tall order for whoever succeeds Hopkin at Livingston, who last played in the Premiership in the 2005/06 campaign, to stave off the threat of relegation.

Jim Goodwin, who led part-time Alloa to a place in the Championship last term, started out as a player-manager at the Indodrill Arena and he believes that Miller will find it hard to juggle his responsibilities.

“It was something that I thought I would be able to handle, but, unfortunately, I found it very difficult to do both jobs,” he said. “After a while I realised I had to commit to one or the other and I decided I would come out of the team.

“When you are a player you just focus on your job on the Saturday. You don’t really think about football away from the stadium. But as a manager it is 24/7.

“It can be quite a challenging task. You have got a lot to think about as a manager in terms of picking the team and keeping an eye on how the actual game is going. When you are involved in the game as a player it is difficult to see all the areas of the pitch. That was something that I struggled with.

“Maybe Kenny will be better at it than I was, but I just thought that after a few games it wasn’t really working for me. I just felt better conducting things from the sidelines.”

Goodwin added: “Listen, Kenny is a very good player and there is no doubt he will add great experience and good quality to the Livingston side. He is a very fit guy and will lead by example. But there is a lot more to it than just playing a game.

“There are people who have been successful at it in the past, some big names have done it and been brilliant at it, but it’s not something that you see very often now.”

Goodwin, the former Stockport, Scunthorpe, Huddersfield, Hamilton and St Mirren midfielder, dropped himself from the team after poor performances and even substituted himself at half-time in one match before he decided to retire as a player and concentrate on managing.

“It is hard to justify picking yourself in a team when you have made as many mistakes as the guy you are leaving out of the team,” he said.

“Kenny might go on and be very successful at it, but I felt I would be better focusing 100 per cent on being a manager than trying to keep myself match fit.

“You have to take the training as well as take part in it and tell the players what you are expecting of them. It was too much in the end for me.”

Miller helped coach the under-20 team towards the end of his time at Rangers and is clearly keen to carve out a successful career for himself in football management.

Goodwin, who is looking forward to the challenge of keeping Alloa in the second tier alongside the likes of Dundee United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Partick Thistle and Ross County, has made the transition successfully and warned his former opponent he must make a strong early impression.

“Your first job in management is an important one,” he said. “If you get off to a good start you can remain as a manager for a long, long time.

“Starting lower down the leagues worked out perfectly for me. I have been able to make mistakes which weren’t highlighted as much as they would have been if I had made them in the Premiership. The level of scrutiny is far lower in League One than it is in the Premiership.

“These are all things that Kenny will have to come to terms with. He has obviously keen on coaching going forward. This is something he thinks he is ready for.”

Goodwin continued: “I do know that one thing that you do need is a good backroom staff and that will be particularly true for Kenny if he continues playing. I know that Davie Martindale, who was there when David Hopkin was there, is quite hands on, so maybe Davie will be able to assist him. It remains to be seen.

“Hopefully Kenny will make a success of it, but I wouldn’t be surprised in a couple of months if he decided to focus on management and be more on the touchline than on the pitch.”