MILLAR LOOKING TO PROVE A POINT AFTER BEING TOLD HE COULD LEAVE IN SUMMER
CHRIS MILLAR’S refusal to turn into a sulking Saint was rewarded on Friday night as he made his first start since being told he was free to find another club.
The midfielder, in his testimonial year, did not find alternative employment after Tommy Wright’s bombshell news early in August that he could leave St Johnstone.
With no takers, Millar continued to graft away behind the scenes and worked his way back into Wright’s plans for sub appearances against Hamilton and Aberdeen.
The visit of Rangers saw the 34-year-old selected from the start and, despite the 3-0 loss, he hopes to have convinced Wright that he should remain firmly in the first-team frame.
Millar said: ‘How close was I to leaving? Well, when you’re told to find another club, you go and look. But for me it didn’t work out, I didn’t get away.
‘The manager said if I worked hard and he felt he needed me, then I’d be called upon.
‘That wasn’t a problem for me, I wasn’t going to be a bad influence. I’ve just been the same person I’ve always been in here.
‘At first you’re down and flat. But instead of using it as a negative, I’ve tried to re-focus. You have to have a bit about you to prove the manager wrong.
‘You can spit the dummy, go in and be a bad person with a poor attitude. Or just get your head down and work hard.
‘If I was younger I might have reacted differently. With experience, you have a bit more a mature head.
‘Everything can change so quickly in football. And I’m not that type of person. I’ve had ten great years here and I couldn’t be that way with the boys.
‘Obviously the manager has seen that in training and in the last few weeks I’ve been involved again. To get the nod on Friday, I was buzzing.’
Minus on-loan Rangers winger Michael O’Halloran, Saints were pushing for an equaliser when Steven Anderson earned a second yellow card to reduce the home side to ten men.
‘I thought we played well and 3-0 was a harsh result on us,’ added Millar. ‘We had so many corners and competed really well.
‘The sending off changed the game massively because, up until 70 minutes, we were in the ascendancy. It felt great to be back. I was just delighted to be involved again.
‘Hopefully I’ve changed the manager’s mind and shown that I’ve still got something about me. There’s still life in the old dog yet.’