Exclusive: Hibs star Miller on Socceroos mission of redemption - and urgent need to improve club fortunes

Blonde but never bland - the new hairdo hasn't caused Miller's ambition to fade any. | SNS Group

Socceroos boss Graham Arnold only had one question for Lewis Miller when he called to invite the Hibs fullback to the World Cup doubleheader kicking off in Gold Coast this week. Asked if he was ready to go, Miller probably just stopped short of responding with that magnificently dry Aussie expression: ‘Ya reckon?’

Yes boss, he’s ready to go. Jumped on a plane at 8 am yesterday without too many complaints. The big man is happy to get another crack at representing his country. Bring on Bahrain – and next week’s trip to Indonesia, while you’re at it.

Underlying Miller’s eagerness, of course, is a determination to right past wrongs. To bury the memory of an Asian Cup experience that left him in dire need of a lift by his Hibs team-mates.

Miller, who was subjected to some vicious personal abuse on social media for his part in Australia’s quarter-final loss to South Korea, admits: “Look, that’s always going to stick in my head. But you can’t really dwell on the past.

“Football is the most beautiful sport ever. But it can also be the cruellest sport ever. That’s football. It’s why we play it – for the extremes of emotion.

“But I’m ready and determined to redeem myself, put it all right. And I do that by ignoring the past and focusing on what is in front of me.”

CHECK OUT OUR HIBS HUB PODCAST AND VIDEO CONTENT NOW

When Miller returned to Scotland feeling beaten up and bruised by his first major tournament experience, then-Hibs boss Nick Montgomery stressed the importance of the player being “back where people love him.” The man himself doesn’t object to that description.

He said: “We had a lot of senior players last year who lifted me, got round me when I got back here, like they all wanted to lift me up. Hibs almost become my obsession.

“I threw everything into grinding every day, working for the team. I think I bounced back quite well.

“Things happen for a reason. I can only look back at it all positively. And be very keen to go again.

“I’m very excited, obviously, to go back. It’s always an honour playing for your country. I’m glad to be fit and ready to contribute again.

“The boss just asked me: ‘Are you ready?’ That was all he had to say. Because obviously I was struggling during the last camp, with injuries, so it didn’t put me in a position to get selected.

“But now that I’ve come back and proved myself in pre-season, I’m getting consistent game time. That’s a big thing for Arnie, you have to be playing. Now I’m hopefully going to continue my own personal form, carry it over to the Socceroos – and get two wins in the qualifiers.”

For someone who become “obsessed” with Hibs, of course, travelling halfway round the world won’t be enough for him to forget about his club. Especially given the personal burden he bears as part of a defence so prone to costly errors.

Despite not being singled out for any fatal howlers himself, Miller insists: “I’m part of the defence. So I never want to concede goals. That’s what we’re there to prevent, it’s basically our job.

“So I take individual responsibility for every goal. We all take individual responsibility together if that makes sense – we share it. We’re a unit back there. We need to work with more cooperation, more communication with one another to stop allowing sloppy goals like that to go in.

GET THE LATEST HIBS NEWS DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX DAILY WITH OUR FREE NEWSLETTER SERVICE

“It feels like we’re saying the same things quite often at the moment. But it’s a tough pill to swallow when you end up with a draw after being in a winning position.

“Against Kilmarnock, we had 88 minutes of sticking to the game plan. And then it’s just one moment where we switch off. All the progress and positivity is erased, which is obviously unfortunate.

“The boys have really taken it to heart. We know we shouldn’t be where we are. We know we’re better than that.

“The international break is going to be a good chance for us to reset, to have a proper think about things, come back twice as determined to put it right. Because we can put it right.”