Lennon Miller's Journey from Liverpool to Udinese and Scotland

Liverpool felt a long way from Boston and Miami that night on the Mersey.

Three thousand, one hundred and ninety six miles separate Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium from the home of the New England Patriots, where Scotland would open their World Cup campaign against Haiti in June. For Lennon Miller, that distance was more than geography. It was the gap between expectation and reality slowly beginning to form.

On 31 March, in the chill on the banks of the river, that World Cup stage was already on the horizon. Miller had just been through an international break that promised much and delivered nothing. Called into Steve Clarke's squad for friendlies against Japan at Hampden and Ivory Coast, the Udinese midfielder did not play a single minute, despite the noise from supporters desperate to see something new.

The image that lingered was not of a debut, but of a consolation. Miller on the side of the pitch in Liverpool, his dad Lee at his shoulder, offering comfort. In hindsight, it was a warning of what lay ahead.

When Clarke named his squad for his World Cup farewell against Curacao, the axe fell. Uncapped 19-year-old Tyler Fletcher of Manchester United was drafted in. The former PFA Young Player of the Year was left out. And when the final World Cup party was confirmed, Miller was nowhere near it.

"It was really difficult. It was a difficult summer," Lee, a former Scotland international himself, admitted. "There's no getting away from it.

"As a family, we had to get round about him. He's been in the game long enough. Obviously, as a player, he's been in the game a few years.

"But with myself being in the game, just a few words of wisdom and encouragement. And, listen, it wasn't to be for him. Obviously somebody wasn't meant to go to the World Cup for whatever reason.

"But he just needs to get on with things and knuckle down and work hard."

The hurt was real. So was the response.

New regime, new door opening

Clarke has gone. His era, defined by loyalty and continuity, has given way to something different. Sebastien Pocognoli has walked into the job with a clear brief from the Tartan Army: shake it up.

He has listened. His first squad for the Nations League double header carries a fresher look, younger edges, a sense of reset. And there, back in among it, is Lennon Miller.

Now 20 and in his second season with Udinese, Miller is starting to look settled in a league that rarely grants patience. He has featured in all five of I Bianconeri's Serie A games so far, forcing his way into the XI and starting the last two.

The cup ties have only underlined his growing importance. He played the full 90 minutes in the Italy Cup win over Venezia earlier this month and was heavily involved across both of Udinese's victories in the competition.

This is the same teenager who was flung into the Motherwell first team just six days after his 16th birthday. Back then, it felt like a whirlwind. Italy has been something else entirely – a grind, a culture shock, a footballing education.

Lee, who will be pulling on a shirt again for Aberdeen at the Tennent's Sixes tournament next month, sees the change up close and likes what he sees.

"It's great to see him back in. And the manager had a nice Facetime with him the day before the squad was announced," he said. "So real positive on the front foot.

"The first season [in Italy is] obviously to try and find his feet, bed in a little bit. This season, he's had more minutes already. So it's been really good.

"If anything, he's developing every single day over there. It's a totally different regime, totally different set up, lifestyle. Everything about it has been excellent.

"So he just needs to continue doing what he's doing there. And hopefully take it in the Scotland squad."

The miles from Liverpool to Foxborough once marked the journey he never got to make. Now the route is shorter, clearer, and runs straight through Udine to Pocognoli's new Scotland. The question is no longer whether Miller belongs in the conversation.

It's how big a role he is ready to seize.