Lennon Miller's Journey: From Liverpool to Serie A Success
Liverpool feels a long way from Boston and Miami.
Three thousand, one hundred and ninety-six miles, to be precise, between Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium and the home of the New England Patriots – the arena that staged Scotland's World Cup opener against Haiti in June.
On a cold night on the banks of the Mersey on 31 March, that distance was already starting to form in Lennon Miller’s mind.
The Udinese midfielder had just come through an international break with Scotland where he never left the bench. Steve Clarke’s squad faced Japan at Hampden and Ivory Coast in friendlies. Supporters wanted fresh faces, different ideas, a glimpse of the future. Miller did not get a single minute.
At full-time in Liverpool, the picture told its own story. His dad, Lee, consoling him at the side of the pitch. A quiet moment. A hint of what was coming.
Months later, when Clarke named his final Scotland squad for a farewell friendly against Curacao, the cut went even deeper. Uncapped Manchester United teenager Tyler Fletcher, 19, got the nod. Miller, a former PFA Young Player of the Year, did not. He was then left out of the World Cup entirely.
"It was really difficult. It was a difficult summer. There's no getting away from it," Lee, a former Scotland striker, admitted.
"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 rejection stung. 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, freshen it, be bold.
He has listened. His first squad for the upcoming Nations League double header carries a different feel, new edges, new energy. And there, back in the mix, is Lennon Miller.
Now 20 and in his second season with Udinese, Miller is beginning to look settled after a seismic move abroad. The raw teenager who left Motherwell has started to harden into a Serie A midfielder.
He has played in all five of I Bianconeri’s league games so far, earning a place in the starting XI in each of the last two. The trust is growing. So is his influence.
Cup nights have helped too. Miller featured heavily in Udinese’s two Italy Cup wins, completing the full 90 minutes against Venezia earlier this month. Real minutes, real responsibility, in a league and a culture that demand tactical discipline and technical quality.
It was never going to be straightforward. This is a player who was thrown into the Motherwell first team just six days after his 16th birthday. The learning curve has always been steep. Italy has only sharpened it.
Lee, preparing to pull on his boots again for Aberdeen in the upcoming Tennent's Sixes tournament next month, has watched the transformation from close quarters.
"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."
The distance from Liverpool to that World Cup opener in the United States will never shrink. That chance has gone. But with Pocognoli turning the page and Miller playing his way into form in Serie A, the road to Scotland’s next chapter suddenly looks a lot shorter.
