Lennon Miller's Journey: From Heartbreak to Opportunity

Liverpool feels a long way from Boston and Miami. Three thousand, one hundred and ninety-six miles, to be exact, between Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium and the home of the New England Patriots, where Scotland opened their World Cup campaign against Haiti in June.

On a raw night by the Mersey on 31 March, that distance was already starting to form in Lennon Miller’s mind.

The Udinese midfielder had been brought into Steve Clarke’s squad for the friendlies against Japan at Hampden and Ivory Coast during that international break. Supporters wanted to see something new, a glimpse of the next generation. Miller never got on the pitch.

Instead, there was that stark image at full-time in Liverpool: Miller on the sidelines, being consoled by his dad, Lee. It looked like a tender family moment. It turned out to be a preview of a bruising few months.

When Clarke named his squad for his World Cup farewell against Curacao, the message was ruthless. Uncapped 19-year-old Tyler Fletcher of Manchester United got the nod. The former PFA Young Player of the Year did not. Miller stayed at home. He never made it to the World Cup.

"It was really difficult. It was a difficult summer. There's no getting away from it," Lee, himself a former Scotland international, 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."

That sting has now given way to something else: opportunity.

Steve Clarke’s era is over. Sebastien Pocognoli has walked in with a clear brief from the Tartan Army – shake things up. Pick on form. Trust the emerging talent.

So the new Scotland squad for the upcoming Nations League double-header looks different. Sharper. Younger. And there, back where many felt he should have been months ago, is Lennon Miller.

Now 20 and in his second season with Udinese, Miller is no longer just the kid who broke through at Motherwell six days after his 16th birthday. He is starting to look like a fully-fledged Serie A midfielder.

He has played in all five of Udinese’s league games this season, starting the last two. The coaching staff have leaned on him in the cups as well. Miller went the full 90 minutes in the Coppa Italia win over Venezia earlier this month and featured heavily in both of the club’s Italy Cup victories.

The jump from Lanarkshire to Friuli was always going to be steep. New country. New language. New tactical demands. For a teenager, it was a lot.

Yet from his vantage point back home, Lee Miller sees a player growing into the challenge as he prepares to impress a new national coach.

"It's great to see him back in. And the manager had a nice Facetime with him the day before the squad was announced," Lee 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."

While Lee dusts off his boots for Aberdeen in the upcoming Tennent's Sixes tournament next month, his son is chasing something far more consequential: a permanent place in a reshaped Scotland.

The miles between Liverpool, Boston and Miami won’t change. What might finally move now is Lennon Miller’s international career.