For a man who’s within reach of creating history, Charlie Miller is one cool customer.
Miller, Queensland Roar’s gun recruit for the 2008/09 Hyundai A-League season, has grabbed a goal in each of the first four rounds of the competition, the first man do so in A-League history.
The attacking midfielder gets the chance to go one better this Friday night when the Roar take on Newcastle at Suncorp Stadium.
Another goal would see him become the only player in an Australian national competition to score in five consecutive matches to start a season, having already matched Alun Evan’s efforts for South Melbourne in 1978.
But if you think the occasion might be weighing on the 32-year-old’s mind, think again.
“There’s no extra pressure on me to try and score a goal. I would love to, but it’s not about me, it’s about the team,” Miller said.
“Friday night it’s very important to win the match. If I get a goal it’s a bonus.”
It’s the sort of response you would expect from Miller, a man who is seemingly always composed and relaxed both on and off the field.
He’s also the consummate professional, when questioned further about his history making scoring-run , a humble Miller said it was all about the Roar.
“It’s been nice, I’ve been very fortunate to get the four goals. I’m very happy to have scored them but the most important thing is getting victories.”
“It’s been a great start, scoring goals is good, but the most important thing is trying to get the three points.”
While most international recruits have historically taken some amount of time to hit their straps in the A-League, Miller has gelled with his side from the start of the season, something he puts down to his relaxed approach.
“I think it’s because I’m an easy-going person, I get on with my teammates very well.”
“I’ve got a great bunch of boys to play with, they’ve made me very welcome and they’ve been great for me.”
Queensland can count themselves a little lucky to have the skillful playmaker among its ranks after the Central Coast were the first A-League club that Miller was linked with.
“It was Ian Ferguson (former Mariners assistant coach), we played in Glasgow together, he’d asked me if I wanted to come out and I practically did everything and then it fell through at the last minute.”
Another former Rangers teammate, Roar captain Craig Moore, then took the ball, working the phones and spruiking his friend’s talents to coach Frank Farina.
Farina jumped onboard and signed Miller, who had just finished a stint with Belgian outfit Lierse SK, to a two-year deal.
Despite always calling Europe home during his playing career, Miller has no regrets about the shift to Australia.
“I’m loving it, I wake up practically every morning and it is sunshine, it’s different from Europe.”
“The lifestyle is unbelievable here, it’s a beautiful place to live. I wanted to come out and try a new style of football and everything’s just clicked into place.”
“The gaffer (Farina) and the boys have been great with me, everyone at the club has been fantastic, they’ve really helped me settle.”
Miller paid special tribute to Moore, whom he lived with for six weeks while he found his feet in Brisbane.
“He’s one of my best friends for years, in football anyway, we’ve always been very close, it’s been great to come back and play with him.”
Moore was full of praise for the Scotsman’s football smarts.
“He’s shown people what he can do, ability-wise is never going to be a concern for Charlie, he’s got loads of ability,” he said.
“He brings greats experience, he’s played at an extremely high level for many years, so he knows where to be, knows where the goal is, we’ve been very fortunate.”
“There’s still a lot more of Charlie, you’ll see a lot better performances from him, but he’s a fantastic player.”
Last month media commentator Andy Harper publicly questioned Miller’s fitness and his ability to run games out.
Despite his red hot form, Miller displayed more of his trademark maturity when given the opportunity to return fire.
“Andy Harper’s doing his job. He has to say some controversial things on television, I don’t have anything to say to Andy Harper.”
“I’m not trying to score goals just because Andy Harper said I was overweight. I want to score goals and help the team win.”
Miller was recruited close to the start of the 2008/09 season and as such did not undergo a full pre-season of training.
The candid Scotsman believes that he still is behind the eight-ball, but improving with every match.
“I still think I’m a bit behind the boys, everyone can see that unless you’re blind.”
“I’m getting there … I can do more, I can get better as a player, I can do more for the team, but I’ll need to get that little bit more fitter.”
“Match fitness is the most important thing. The more games I play, the fitter I’m going to get.”
Farina had no complaints about Miller’s fitness level.
“Whether he loses another couple of kilos or not, he’s in good shape, he’s capable of playing the 90 minutes at a high tempo,” he said.
“Charlie’s never going to look like Adonis, but as long as he’s performing and contributing to the team in the manner he is, he’ll do me any day.”
“It’s what we wanted, a playmaker who can not only dictate play and create stuff but he’s also banging in some goals.”
Miller has copped plenty of gibes from opposition supporters and the media about his waistline, but remains coolly unshaken.
“It doesn’t worry me in the slightest, people can say what they want,” he
“If I keep on putting the ball in the net and we can keep on getting victories, I don’t care what anyone says.”
One suspects that if he keeps on performing well as the vital link-up man between the Roar’s midfield and strikers, people will be talking about Miller, but for a completely different reason.
