Lewis Miller has had an up and down time during his Hibs spell so far, but manager David Gray is clearly a big fan.
The Australian right-back was signed from Central Coast Mariners in 2022 and initially showed plenty of promise in his early displays. But, like any young player, has suffered from dips in form.
That has often come hand-in-hand with blips from the team in general but when you are at a club the size of the Easter Road men, there can be no escaping the scrutiny from fans at times.
That has been the case for the 24-year-old Aussie throughout his time in Leith, including early on this season.
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Hibs boss Gray has high hopes for Lewis Miller
A fellow right-back, Gray clearly sees a lot of potential in the Socceroo.
Miller has a reputation as a bit of a wildcard and his club manager joked he was unsure how he will cope on international duty without the absent Hibs teammate Martin Boyle. But he then got serious to underline just how much he thinks of him.
Asked about the player’s character traits, he joked: “How long have you got? It’s an interesting question… I’m interested to see how he’ll do, going away without Martin to hold his hand, to be honest!
“In all seriousness, though, he’s someone who can be anything he wants to be. When you look at him from an athletic point of view, he regularly shows those attributes.
“He also has moments where he knows he needs to improve, and that’s something we’ve really worked hard on in the last year and a half since he’s been at the club, to be honest. Having played the same position as me, from a coaching point of view, there’s a lot of things that I try and help him with. But he is such a big, strong, powerful boy that he can really affect games of football.”
Hibs man Miller’s social media abuse
Players these days often have to put up with a lot on social media, particularly in times that are already tough for them.
Miller has experienced that himself after some mistakes for Australia in the Asia Cup last year, and spoke out about how hard it was.
Gray added: “Yes, he was going through a tough time. But he’s a confident big guy as well, so he has got a lot of faith in his ability, and he just seems to take everything in his stride.
“That’s the type of personality he’s got and it’s good that he’s able to bounce back from these things pretty quickly. So I think he’s responded really well and it’s great that he’s still in the squads and he’s pushing on. My focus is on his performances here and hopefully, when he gets the opportunity, he plays to his maximum.”