Lindsay Herron reports from Parkhead

KENNY MILLER enjoyed the greatest day of his life as Rangers crushed their title rivals with a blistering second half display.

Amazingly, having failed to score since returning to Rangers, Miller scored twice against the team he spent a season with in 2006/07 as Rangers scored four at Parkhead for the first time in 14 years.

Pedro Mendes scored a remarkable 30-yard drive and it was Daniel Cousin who had started it all with a stunning goal seven minutes before half time.

It was astonishing as Rangers threw down a massive marker in the championship race; albeit just four games in.

But that was not the full story. Cousin and Celtic's Jan Vennegoor or Hesselink were both sent off in a remarkable derby.

However, it was Miller's day. To be brave enough to cross the great divide twice and handle rancour from within the Rangers ranks and rise above it all says a lot for this man's character.

Of course it was two years ago at the same venue and in the same fixture that Miller scored his first goal for Celtic. Football is just incredible at times.

Rangers had top men all over the pitch, especially in the second half and Walter Smith's tactics were spot on

His bold decision to start with Cousin proved to be a terrific one; obviously because he gave Rangers the lead but also because his physical strength and tremendous pace caused constant problems to the Celtic defence.

He won a handful of free kicks in the first half because Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus found him so hard to deal with.

His flicks to the side looking for Miller were always good and he fed the ball back to the midfield with tremendous aplomb.

The way he scored his goal in 37 minutes encapsulated everything about his play.

Cousin had plenty to do when Mendes swept the ball to the right hand side but he destroyed Mark Wilson for pace as he burst into the Celtic box.

Everyone assumed he would try to cut the ball back for Miller, but Cousin had one thing in his mind as he drilled a low shot which beat Artur Boruc at his near post and whipped into the net.

The sad thing from a Rangers point of view was that they only held the lead for two minutes.

Mendes got caught in midfield when he tried to leave the ball for Steve Davis instead of taking another touch and Scott Brown stole possession.

He sprayed the ball wide for Aiden McGeady, but even then Rangers had defenders back.

McGeady played the ball in and Maloney got a flick on it. Papac tried to clear it but fired the ball straight against Georgios Samaras who promptly tucked it past Allan McGregor.

It was a desperate goal to lose for a number of reasons but the key for Rangers was that they recovered from that blow to finish the half the stronger side.

There was purpose about Rangers when they came out in the second half and they killed Celtic with two fantastic goals inside the first 17 minutes.

Scripts can often be written for these occasions and there were those who felt it was going to be Miller time. They were right.

Rangers had been swarming around the Celtic area in 52 minutes looking for an opening with some terrific play between Davis, Mendes and Cousin.

Indeed it was the strength of Cousin again which proved vital as he held off Caldwell to touch the ball back to Kevin Thomson on the left side of the box.

He saw Miller at the back post, whipped the ball over and the moment came as Miller drilled the ball past Boruc and raced to the Rangers end where he was mobbed by his delirious team mates.

If that was not dramatic enough, Rangers scored a fantastic third goal 10 minutes later.

Davis fooled the Celtic defence by playing a corner low outside of the box and Pedro Mendes produced a sensational strike from 30 yards which screamed into the left corner of the net.

This was dreamland stuff for the Rangers supporters but all of a sudden the game exploded with two red cards in the space of a minute.

Cousin was sent off for a second yellow card in 75 minutes having been cautioned on both occasions for using his elbow when jumping for the ball.

Incredibly, though Celtic sub Vennegoor of Hesselink was sent off a minute later when he kicked Kirk Broadfoot after giving away a free kick.

The drama, though, was not over - not by a long way.

Rangers scored a fourth goal in 79 minutes and it was Miller again who got it after a dreadful blunder by Boruc.

The highly impressive Broadfoot whipped over a cross from the right and Boruc spilled it right at the feet of Miller who had time to pick his spot from six yards. It was incredible.

The 28-year-old striker might have become the first Rangers player to score a league hat-trick against Celtic for 53 years but Boruc denied him with a great save in the final minute.

In injury time Celtic scored a second goal when Nakamura showed terrific technique with a free kick from 22 yards but it mattered little.