Scotland: Miller exhibits ‘maturity’ and ‘distinctive’ expertise

Not much seems to faze Lennon Miller.

Not making his international debut at 18 on Friday or his first start on Monday, nor talking about it to a gaggle of journalists afterwards.

The 18-year-old stood, one hand in a pocket, talking about his big moment as if he was recounting what he had for his lunch.

“It’s a good night’s work, a proud moment to make my first start and to pop up with an assist is always nice,” the Motherwell midfielder told BBC Scotland.

Yes, it was against Liechtenstein, one of the worst sides in international football, but Miller’s mature performance was one of the highlights of the friendly win.

He played a crucial part in Che Adams’ second goal, following his man and hassling him before pinching the ball and laying it to the striker to finish.

Then there were the piercing forward passes, one in particular into John McGinn which set the midfielder free, and other fired for George Hirst to again get Scotland on to the front foot.

A flick, followed by a pirouette and pass into Adams was another highlight.

All those individual moments were impressive, but overall it was just the calmness Miller exuded which suggests he is undaunted even among older and higher profile peers.

“His variation of passing is exceptional, he’s played at the top level for two years now and you can see the maturity in his game and the understanding as well, whether it’s playing in a two or a three [in midfield],” former Scotland captain Scott Brown said on BBC Scotland’s Sportscene programme.

“To come in and show belief in himself, it shows you nothing really fazes him and that’s the best thing about football, especially being a young kid, go out and, as the manager said, do what you do at Motherwell.”