Lee Miller on his return to action
Striker Lee Miller spoke to us today about his return to action following a long-term lay-off due to an ankle injury picked up during the first game of the season.
“It was great to get back out there last Saturday even though the result didn’t make it the type of come back I really wanted,” he said.
“In terms of the ankle and my overall fitness though, I felt really good. I’d been in training for two weeks prior to the game – non-contact first and then full contact – and that went really well. It was just nice to be involved again.”
“I don’t mind admitting that I was done in at the end of it,” he added. “Every player will tell you that you go through pre-season and do as much running, fitness work and endurance work as you can, but it’s nothing compared to match fitness. That is a totally different thing.
“It doesn’t matter what you do on the training pitch because it takes at least four or five games to get that sharpness back and to be able to last a full game without feeling it. You do grow in confidence with the more you get on the ball but I felt that I had a few dodgy touches which I wouldn’t have had if I’d been fully fit.
“I don’t think you can have an injury then just expect to come back into the team and carry on where you left off. It’s a case of me trying to find my feet again and then I can push on and hopefully help the team.”
“The last few months have been absolute torture,” he admitted. “I’m not a good spectator at the best of times so it has been really hard. That’s gone though and I’m in a situation where I can try and do something to help to get the results on the pitch.
“I’ve tried to get in the dressing room as much as possible anyway, even though I haven’t been playing, because there is a fantastic team spirit here. I wanted to stay part of that and do my bit, even if that was just the odd word or two.
“It isn’t just about having good players at the club because it’s as much about how we all work together. Personnel wise there isn’t too much that has changed from last season and we shouldn’t be where we are. We all know that. We know the fans are hurting but it’s the same for us, as players. We want to put it right on the pitch for our fans, ourselves and for the club as a whole.
“I’m looking forward to going to Scunthorpe,” he told us. “I had a good six months there, and I even played with Joe Garner, which felt strange when we were back out on the pitch together at the weekend.
“It’s a tight little ground and the fans make that count if their team is playing well so it’ll be up to us to stop that.”
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