Lennon Miller's Journey: From World Cup Disappointment to Scotland Recall
Liverpool felt a long way from Boston and Miami that night on the Mersey.
Three thousand, one hundred and ninety-six miles separate Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium from the home of the New England Patriots, where Scotland would later open their World Cup campaign against Haiti in June. Yet on 31 March, in that chill by the river, the road to that tournament was already starting to close for Lennon Miller.
The Udinese midfielder had just come through an international break in which he travelled but never truly arrived. Named in Steve Clarke's squad for the friendlies against Japan at Hampden and Ivory Coast, he watched it all from the sidelines. Supporters had demanded experimentation. Miller did not play a single minute.
At full-time in Liverpool, one image cut through the noise. His dad, Lee, at the side of the pitch, arm around his son, consoling him. It looked like a simple family moment. In hindsight, it was a sign of what was coming.
Clarke’s final Scotland game, a World Cup farewell against Curacao, underlined it. When the next squad was named, it was uncapped Manchester United 19-year-old Tyler Fletcher who got the nod. The former PFA Young Player of the Year was left out. Then came the final blow: Miller did not make the World Cup plane.
"It was really difficult. It was a difficult summer," admitted Lee, a former Scotland international himself. "There's no getting away from it.
"As a family, we had to get round about him. He's been in the game long enough. Obviously, as a player, he's been in the game a few years.
"But with myself being in the game, just a few words of wisdom and encouragement. And, listen, it wasn't to be for him. Obviously somebody wasn't meant to go to the World Cup for whatever reason.
"But he just needs to get on with things and knuckle down and work hard."
The setback hurt. It also cleared the stage.
Steve Clarke’s era is over. Sebastien Pocognoli has walked into the job with a clear brief from the Tartan Army: change it. Shake it up. Give the next wave a real crack.
So he has. The new Scotland head coach has named a fresher, more adventurous squad for the upcoming Nations League double header, and Miller is back in the frame.
This is not a sentimental recall. The 20-year-old is now in his second season with Udinese and, after a turbulent first year in Italy, is starting to string performances together. The raw teenager who left Motherwell has turned into a Serie A regular.
He has featured in all five of I Bianconeri's league games so far, starting the last two. In the Coppa Italia, he has been trusted as well, playing the full 90 minutes in the win over Venezia earlier this month and featuring heavily in both cup victories.
For a player first thrown into the Motherwell first team six days after his 16th birthday, another steep learning curve was inevitable. A new country, new language, new demands. But the family see a footballer growing, not shrinking, under that weight.
Lee, who will be pulling on his boots again for Aberdeen in the upcoming Tennent's Sixes tournament next month, believes the move is already reshaping his son.
"It's great to see him back in. And the manager had a nice Facetime with him the day before the squad was announced," he said. "So real positive on the front foot.
"The first season [in Italy is] obviously to try and find his feet, bed in a little bit. This season, he's had more minutes already. So it's been really good.
"If anything, he's developing every single day over there. It's a totally different regime, totally different set up, lifestyle. Everything about it has been excellent.
"So he just needs to continue doing what he's doing there. And hopefully take it in the Scotland squad."
From that cold night in Liverpool to the heat of a World Cup he never reached, Miller has already had a crash course in the brutality of international football. Now comes the next test: turning Serie A minutes and a fresh start under Pocognoli into something more permanent in dark blue.
