If someone had asked Kenny Miller a year ago, while he was working under Ronny Deila at Atlanta United, that in one year he would be in charge of Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv and would be hoisting the State Cup as his first title as a head coach, he would have asked them if they were absolutely crazy.
But yet, the 46-year-old Scot, just one year later, was on the sidelines at Teddy Stadium this week guiding the yellow-and-blue to its 25th Cup and then being awarded the Winners Medal by the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog.
Life can take plenty of twists and turns, and in today’s world, the only thing that can be expected is the unexpected.
Miller arrived at Kiryat Shalom as part of Deila’s staff when the Norwegian took over the reins at Maccabi from Zarko Lazetic back in January of this year, and very quickly, the new team in charge began to breathe new life into a club that had struggled and stagnated since winning the 2024/25 league championship.
Deila was able to impact the club and pulled Maccabi to within striking distance of table leader Hapoel Beersheba by the end of April. However, after a 4-2 thrashing at the hands of Beitar Jerusalem, Deila took a leave of absence due to personal issues that left Miller as the main man for the final six games of the league season, along with the State Cup final against the Southern Reds in the capital city.
Miller leaves his mark despite uncertain future
With a record of two wins, two losses, and a pair of draws to close out the regular season, it looked as if Beersheba would be the overwhelming favorite to not only win the cup but also complete the double, which would mark the first time an Israeli club would accomplish the feat since Maccabi won the Treble back in 2015.
But it was clear that Miller had other plans, as he took the lessons learned from the 4-2 loss at Hapoel Beersheba and implemented them in full force at Teddy. Even in what could be considered an off year for the yellow-and-blue, Maccabi still navigated its way to take home a piece of hardware and end the season on a high note.
“I’m really proud of the players,” Miller said after the match. “Really proud of the staff, we’ve all pulled together over these last three weeks to make sure that we were ready and as fresh and as fit as possible to come into this game and give the performance that we gave. I think we fully deserved it.”
Where Miller’s future lies at this point remains unclear, as the club will bring in a new sports director following Ben Mansford's departure. Ultimately, that individual, rumored to be Mindaugas Nikolicius, will most likely have the authority to name his own head coach.
If Miller stays or if he goes, it won’t change a number of facts about the former Scottish striker who scored 227 goals in 670 career appearances for a variety of teams, including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Celtic, and Rangers, as well as many other clubs. He has been a consummate professional since taking over for Deila, speaking with authority and confidence across the various media settings he has been available in, and has clearly put his imprint on Maccabi, capturing the State Cup for the first time since the 2020/21 season.
Miller will always be able to look back at what type of whirlwind he has been a part of since coming to the Holy Land. From the Iran War and taking over from Deila, to winning the cup, it will be an unforgettable experience from top to bottom.
“Three weeks ago, when I got asked to finish off the season, my eye immediately went to the cup final,” Miller explained.
“We had earned the right to get there, we had six league games leading into it, which we wanted to compete and we wanted to win every one of them. But the eye was always on the cup final, to make sure that we finished the season off strong. It’s been a long, hard season for the club, for the players, but to finish it off this way, it makes all the work and everything that you’ve gone through worth it.”
Miller waits as Maccabi weighs next move
While Miller would most definitely like to stay as head coach for the 2026/27 season, which is right around the corner, the decision will not be in his hands. But what was in his hands was the team he was gifted with on May 4 and he took full advantage of the opportunity that fell into his lap like Manna from heaven.
“The experience, it’s been invaluable,” Miller stated. “Firstly, coming in with Ronny and working with Ronny for two years now has been an incredible learning experience for me about how you need to prepare and how you need to plan. Three weeks ago, I was thrust into the position to try and continue that work, and it is completely different when it’s on you, and you feel the pressures, the decisions.
“It’s my first cup final as a coach, and I told the players 23 years ago today was the Play-off final for Wolves, and we won that as well. Cup finals don’t come along too often, so, it’s been a top experience to finish it off in this way and deliver another trophy for this wonderful club. It’s been a really positive end to this spell.”
There is always the possibility that Miller will be rewarded and stay on, but a club like Maccabi, which plays in Europe on almost an annual basis, and with the lack of coaching experience that Miller has, especially at that level, while it wouldn’t be the first time, it would still be a surprise should he be given the keys to the car. However, in our world, expect the unexpected.
“I’ve worked ever so hard to get the team to play a certain way, and honestly, a lot of the work was done months ago when we were trying to instill our principles and how we want to play, how we believed a team like Maccabi should play. That says so much of the work done at the early stages when we came in with Ronny back in January, so for me, it was about continuing that, the stability that we showed in how we want to play. I’ve had wonderful support from Mitch [Goldhar], the owner, Jack [Angelides], our CEO, and Ben [Mansford], our sporting director.”
Goldhar and Miller did speak leading up to the State Cup final, but it wasn’t about staying on as the bench boss explained.
“It was about making sure we got the job done. We’ve got a fantastic owner who supports the club with everything he’s got, and he’s really passionate about the team and trying to make us the best. For me, it was more about the support for this game and to make sure we got the right performance that would give us the chance to win and we got it, now we can look forward.”
“I’ve loved it here,” Miller continued. “I know we all loved it here when we came, as Maccabi is a club that’s a really, really good fit for how we wanted to work and behave, and I’m no different. I’m sure we’ll have conversations in the next days or week and we’ll see where we go.”
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