KENNY MILLER has targeted a speedy Premiership start in the coming weeks as Rangers look to avoid a repeat of their faltering top flight campaign last term.

Pedro Caixinha’s side head to Motherwell tomorrow afternoon aiming to build on the momentum they have gathered from the friendly fixtures with Marseille, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday.

Twelve month ago, Rangers dropped points against Hamilton and Kilmarnock under Mark Warburton’s guidance before the Old Firm humiliation at Parkhead ended any faint hopes of a title challenge.

And striker Miller knows the first handful of fixtures are crucial for the Light Blues if they are to be more competitive in the top flight in the coming months.

He said: “One hundred per cent. And for me the start of the season is huge.

“We huffed and puffed at the start of last season. We drew, we won, we drew, we drew, we got beat.

“After five or six games we were seven points back already. We had dropped points with draws against Hamilton and Killie and had been beaten by Celtic.

“We were seven points back after a handful of games. For me, it’s important we start well. So any thoughts about what went on in the last month, two months of last season has got to go out of our mind.

“We have to be fully focused about going to Motherwell on Sunday with a bit of confidence, a bit of belief and some positivity off the back of the week we’ve had and taking what we have learned in those games into this game and making sure we get off to a winning start.”

While Celtic never looked back after that derby win on home soil, Rangers couldn’t recover as they stumbled throughout a poor campaign and eventually finished third.

It was a comfortable march to six-in-a-row for Brendan Rodgers’ side as they stretched well clear of the battle between the Gers and Aberdeen.

Rangers have been all-but written off in the title race this term and Miller knows Caixinha’s side must improve from an underwhelming season last time out.

He said: “Listen, it’s two fold. You don’t want to give anyone an easy ride and over the course of last season we were not anywhere close enough to put pressure on anybody.

“Even Aberdeen at the end of the season we finished nine-points behind them. As much as it was competitive for the majority of the season for second spot, we want to be challenging for the league.

“To do that we need to be more competitive, more consistent, we needed to improve the squad which I think we’ve done. Only time will tell if it’s going to be good enough to have a sustained challenge towards the end of the season.”