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

Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller, 18, could be set for a Scotland debut against Greece this week

Nations League play-off, second leg: Scotland v Greece

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 23 March Kick-off: 17:00 GMT

Coverage: Watch on BBC Scotland & iPlayer; listen on BBC Radio Scotland & Sounds; live text coverage & in-play clips on the 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, who has been included in Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for the upcoming Nations League play-off with Greece.

"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 played 68 times in claret and amber.

The biggest occasion of his early career came in his 54th appearance, when he led out Motherwell as captain at Hampden in a narrow Scottish League Cup semi-final defeat against Rangers in November.

A first Scotland cap this month would almost certainly trump that.

It was Miller'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 because of 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, one of many clubs with a reported interest in signing the teenager this summer.

However, the midfielder 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 the youngest player in Motherwell history 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?'

Miller has scored four goals and assisted six for Motherwell this campaign

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 for much of the campaign, he has scored four goals and assisted six.

And despite missing six Premiership games in early 2025 with a hairline ankle fracture, he still ranks in the league's top 10 for chance creation.

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

Even with the pressures of first-team football, Miller's risk-taking remains.

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 earlier this season, 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 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 this season has been whether he would make the step up to the senior squad.

His dad believes he is "good enough" now, and his son will have the chance to prove that over the course of the next week.

Two days after the news emerged that Miller was included in Clarke's squad, he told the media: "I'm obviously not going to go in and be the best player there, but I believe I maybe could be in a couple of months.

"I think that's how you need to think as a football player - you need to want to be the best."