RUNNING A RED LIGHT
Millar faced Liverpool road block but insists Killie move will help his career
THE ultimate goal of dislodging one of European football’s most dynamic front three from the Liverpool team sounds entirely impractical to Kilmarnock loan signing Liam Millar.
Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino are only on the brink of following up last year’s Champions League final run with an English Premier League title victory.
But when the coaching minds backing up Millar’s development are Steven Gerrard, Kenny Dalglish and Steve Clarke, the forward has an impressive trio of his own fighting his corner.
Gerrard was the Liverpool academy manager who granted the 19-year-old Canadian international a regular game and a promotion to the Anfield Under-23 squad last season.
Liverpool and Scotland legend Dalglish is the occasional training ground mentor who recommended him to Kilmarnock.
And, as a result of that tip-off, the excellent Clarke is now Millar’s boss until the end of the season as he takes his first strides in senior football at Rugby Park.
‘It’s almost insane thinking you could replace one of the strikers at Liverpool,’ acknowledged Millar.
‘I have trained with their first team now and then. The front three are unbelievable, among the best in the world and that makes it so hard to break in.
‘There’s always a chance, though. One of them could move and there’s a place to be filled. Jurgen Klopp will give youngsters a chance, like you saw in the FA Cup.
‘This is why coming to Kilmarnock is good for me. If I do well up here, I might get on a pre-season tour (with Liverpool) or something.
‘It was a long 24 hours, but it was good to get on (against Hearts on Friday night). I think it’s a good move for me. The fans were amazing. You don’t get to experience that sort of atmosphere playing Under-23 football.
‘That and the physicality isn’t something you get at Under-23 level. The game was a little bit quick, but I thought I did okay when I came on.
‘I wanted to get some first-team football. That’s the most important thing when you are developing as a player.’
Top academy scorer at Liverpool this term with 19 goals, Millar signed a new long-term contract with the English giants then made his Killie debut as a late substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Hearts on Friday.
He has a further 14 top-flight matches, including the midweek trip to Dundee, to impress Clarke and earn a glowing report card to be sent back to Melwood.
As for increasing his sample of first-team action with a Scottish Cup run, that will depend on the outcome of Saturday’s home clash with Rangers — and his former Liverpool coach Gerrard.
‘It will be good to see him,’ said a grinning Millar. ‘He gave me the chance to play week in, week out with the Under-18s.
‘When I started to find success, he put me in the Under-23s towards the end of the season.
‘So he knew what was right for me at the time and helped my development a lot.
‘In the first half of the season, we were undefeated under him, until players started getting success and moved up to the Under-23s.
‘When I first saw Steven Gerrard, I was shell-shocked. He was someone I’d watched a lot on TV when I was a kid. He was an icon.
‘Once I got used to him, he was a nice, normal guy. He is calm but he also has a hard side to him, as you can imagine he had as a player. You just have to make sure you get on his good side.’
Millar is now hoping to exact a similar influence over Clarke, formerly first-team coach at Liverpool during Dalglish’s second spell as manager.
Millar explained: ‘Kenny Dalglish was the one who recommended me, which is not too bad!
‘He gets involved in our sessions every now and then. He helps us with our finishing and stuff.
‘I’ve heard really great things about Steve Clarke from people at Liverpool, so I’m really looking forward to working with him.
‘Everyone says he gets the best out of you and that’s what Steven Gerrard did with me last season.
‘I can see the similarities with him and Steven. They are both passionate and very hard.’ Millar spoke with Canadian international team-mates Scott Arfield and Marcus Godinho, the Hearts defender, before sealing the move to Ayrshire.
‘Scott is a guy I admire from playing with Canada. He is our captain and one of the most inspirational people on that team,’ said Kilmarnock’s new boy.
‘It will be good to play against him next Saturday. I’ve been to three or four national team camps with him. He’s a nice guy — and an absolute character.
‘Being the captain, he looks after us and is always there for advice.’