Lewis Miller will always hold hard-tackling Socceroos legend Lucas Neill as his first role model in football. And considering both players came through the ranks at a Sydney-based club called Manly United perhaps their fondness for the physical side of the game should be no surprise.
But while former West Ham and Blackburn ace Neill was the Hibs defender’s top idol it’s a player with Sheffield steel mixed with Scottish blood flowing through his veins who gave him the strength to try mixing it in Europe. Miller reckons the day former Scotland U21 international and Sheffield United icon Nick Montgomery took on the top job at Central Coast Mariners was the moment his own career powered onto a new level.
As a teenager he had made his A-League breakthrough under Alen Stajcic. But it was Montgomery’s faith and guidance after moving into the top job last season after a spell coaching in the club’s academy which made Miller a standout.
Those performances caught the eye of Hibs scouts and after u-turning on a move to Macarthur FC in favour of joining the Lee Johnson revolution in Leith in the summer Miller admits he owes a debt of gratitude to his former boss.
Miller said: “Nick was at Sheffield United and was a legend there as well. When he took the job at Mariners I knew I was going to be in for a good season because he was with me in the academy and he always believed in me and trusted me.
"The second he got that gig I started playing more games, I was more consistent and just getting better and better under his influence. To play under someone with his experience, you look up to him and listen to what he has to say and you just keep getting better."
Miller has had to be patient in his bid to become first choice right back at Easter Road with Chris Cadden the preferred option on the right so far. The 22-year-old has had to settle for two sub appearances in the top flight after starting two League Cup games in July.
He encountered Johnson’s wrath in last month’s defeat at St Mirren with the manager branding him “naive” for not being ready to go on as a sub as the clock ticked down. But Miller insists he is more than ready to fight for his place in the starting line-up with a determination born from his early days watching 96-times capped Socceroo ace Neill.
He said: “I first started at Manly United and they have the Lucas Neill Stadium. He’s obviously an Australian legend. He was a hard tackler, always gave it 110 per cent and I used to be a centre-back so transitioning from centre-back to right-back, I still looked up to a player like that.
"If I can be half the player he was then I'll be on the right path. His dad runs a few tournaments in that area, he came through the youth teams at Manly. There's a Lucas Neill Award at the end of the season.
"Unfortunately I wasn't good enough to win it at the time, and it would have been a great honour to get that award. But he was a top player in terms of attitude and leadership - he had it all."
Miller is one of eight Aussies currently playing in the Scottish top flight. And he admits moving to Edinburgh was crucial if he wanted to take his game into the next level.
He said: “It’s always been football for me. I haven't done anything else since I started as a 12-year-old. I just started getting better and better and luckily I got the European move.
"Sydney, where I grew up, is a good place for football; I was around family and friends, it was safe, so I could just play in my local league and it was really easy. But if you want to improve, you can't sit still.”
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