Miller's rise from 'devastating' grief to Scotland's emerging star

Teenager Lennon Miller's stoppage-time penalty against Dundee United sent Motherwell through to Sunday's League Cup semi-final with Rangers

Scottish League Cup semi-final: Motherwell v Rangers

Venue: Hampden, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 3 November Kick-off: 15:00 GMT

Coverage: Listen to match commentary on BBC Sounds and follow live text updates on BBC Sport website & app

A "wee Champions League ball" is bouncing perfectly for Lennon Miller in the Aberdeen players' lounge.

Father Lee, then a striker at the Pittodrie club, is blown away again by the freakish technique of his two-year-old son when he "absolutely creams one" on the volley.

With the ball mid-flight, his astonishment instantly turns to horror when the wife of then Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood swings open the door to the lounge with a glass of wine in her hand.

Smash. Splash. "She was soaking," Lee recalls. "We all just stopped and were thinking, 'how's she going to react to this?'. But she just laughed it off."

At the same age, the former Scotland striker also remembers his young son oddly having the knowledge to dry the ball with his top before taking a throw.

And by the time he was four, the Motherwell midfielder was attempting corners on 11-a-side pitches, even though he "couldn't hit the 18-yard box".

Needless to say, football was - and still is - young Miller's life, but his world was turned upside down at the age of just five following the loss of mother Donna, who died in 2012 after having cancer.

Now 18, and already a talismanic figure at Fir Park, doing mum proud is what drives the teenager - and with each passing week that drive looks destined to take him to the top of the game.

"Going through that at such a young age, football has been my escape from such a devastating thing," Miller tells BBC Scotland.

"I felt like every time I was in the house it was catching up on me and every time I was out on the pitch I forgot about it.

"If I was upset I'd always think about football, I'd talk to my dad about football. It was just my way of escaping it."

Panenkas & 'running games' at seven

Miller only turned 18 in August, yet he has already made 53 first-team appearances in claret and amber.

The biggest occasion of his early career is set to come on Sunday, though, when Motherwell face Rangers in the Scottish League Cup last four at Hampden.

It was the teenager's 91st-minute penalty against Dundee United in the previous round that booked the Fir Park side their first semi-final in more than six years.

The moment referee John Beaton pointed to the spot, dad Lee could barely watch in the stand - not because he doubted his son, but instead due to his history of dinking penalties.

"I've always had one in my locker and I've always enjoyed seeing the goalie raging," Miller jokes.

"I've probably said to my dad before that if I get one, I'll dink it. But I've seen the goalie go early so I thought I'd leave it."

The fact someone so young would take the penalty in such a high-pressure situation says it all about the laidback manner in which Miller plays the game.

And it was that composed style that made him "stand out like a sore thumb" when Stuart Ogilvie, Motherwell's long-serving head of academy recruitment, watched Miller for the first time with Cambusnethan Talbot boys club.

"He was spraying passes all over the place, running the game just the way he does now," says Ogilvie, who also scouted former Scotland forward James McFadden and ex-Celtic midfielder David Turnbull for Motherwell.

"I've been in the scouting game for 30 years - 25 of which have been at Motherwell - and the feeling I got when I watched Lennon was the same as when I watched James and David."

From Celtic past to Well record breaker

Miller dedicated his first professional contract at Motherwell to his late mum in 2022

Ogilvie thought his chance had gone when he learned Miller had been training with Celtic, but he dropped out of their academy after feeling the demands were "too much pressure at such a young age".

Within weeks he was part of Motherwell's youth set-up and quickly became "the talk of the steamie" within the coaching staff.

Throughout his rapid development, the decision was made for Miller to train and play with older age groups - something the midfielder feels only enhanced his ability to "take the ball under pressure".

And away from the Motherwell academy, father Lee would even allow his son to train with Falkirk while he was their manager.

Interest from south of the border in the youngster was high, but three years later - six days after his 16th birthday - Miller became Motherwell's youngest ever player when he came on in a League Cup win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

While he watched some team-mates leave for academies of bigger clubs, Miller understood the importance of the pathway there for him - one the likes of Turnbull, Allan Campbell, Chris Cadden, James Scott and Jake Hastie have benefitted from in recent years.

"That's all I wanted to do, play first-team football, because my dad told me that's the best way of developing," Miller says.

"Moving on and maybe not getting that, I thought that wasn't a good idea. I didn't want to be playing academy football for the rest of my career."

'Why not try the risky pass?'

That patience and understanding, when it might have been easier to jump at a more lucrative academy contract elsewhere, has paid off big time.

Despite a two-month injury lay-off, Miller enjoyed a stellar breakthrough campaign last term, playing 32 games in a deep-lying midfield position.

His fearless ability to take the ball from the defence and link play caught the eye, but this season has shown there are more strings to his bow.

Deployed in a more advanced midfield role, he has already scored three and assisted four in 16 games, while only three players in the Premiership have created more chances.

"It's completely different to what I was playing last year," Miller said of his new role. "It's taken time to get used to and I'm reaping the rewards now."

Despite the pressures of first-team football, Miller's risk-taking remains, from his exquisite turn to set up his team's opener against Celtic in February to his clever free-kick assist for the first goal at Hibernian earlier this month.

There are far more occasions when those risks do not pay off, but "there's no point worrying what people think," he says. "Just reset, get the ball back, and do it again".

But where does that mindset come from? Miller has always been inspired by Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne, but he feels the loss of his mum, who always wanted him to be a footballer, has been a "massive factor".

After all, misplacing a pass is meaningless in comparison to what he had to endure in his early life. So "why not try the risky pass," he adds.

'He's good enough to play for Scotland'

That gallus approach is attracting attention. Even in a 3-0 defeat by Celtic last Sunday, Miller's all-round game stood out, striking the woodwork twice.

A clip then circulated of veteran broadcaster Martin Tyler waxing lyrical about the teenager, while former Scotland striker Kris Boyd suggested the midfielder is now out of reach for both Old Firm clubs.

Experienced Motherwell duo Andy Halliday and Paul McGinn have also said Miller, who ended Wednesday's win at Tannadice with the captain's armband, is the best youngster they have ever played with.

When you consider Halliday trained with a teenage Billy Gilmour at Rangers, plus McGinn's younger brother is Aston Villa captain John, the comments are "obviously a huge honour" for Miller.

But with the help of dad Lee - now a barber and a good one at that, according to his son - the youngster is able to keep a lid on things by putting plaudits and speculation to one side.

A Scotland Under-21 international, much of the chat surrounding the teenager has been whether he is capable of making the step up to the senior squad.

His dad believes he is "good enough" now, while Miller says "I'll be ready" whenever the call comes.

Regardless, it feels somewhat poignant that his first appearance at the national stadium is set to come for the club he has dedicated more than half his life to.

The Fir Park club travel to Hampden knowing victory against a troubled Rangers side would take them to within a win of their first major honour in 33 years.

Miller recognises Motherwell will still be "massive underdogs" in the tie, but the teenager is eyeing an opportunity to make himself, along with his team-mates, a club legend.

"We just need to go out there and enjoy it," he says. "That's all we can do, we know it's a massive game for everybody involved.

"And we know we have a chance to make history - that's the main aim."