Life in the Second City is good right now for Liam Millar. Sent to Birmingham City on loan for the season just days after scoring a winning goal in the Premier League for Hull City, the Canadian winger has fit right in at St Andrew’s.
In just four appearances for the Blues, Millar has had a hand in four goals, netting once and setting up three for his new teammates – the 26-year-old marking his account with a composed finish in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.
The winger’s impressive displays have earned him plaudits from manager Chris Davies, along with widespread admiration from his new fanbase, who have taken to him in a big way. It’s fair to say the feeling has been reciprocated.
Millar is loving his opportunity, and while the disappointment at his Premier League stay ending so quickly will no doubt have lingered, he’s put his best foot forward in some style to take the Championship by storm in the early weeks of the campaign.
He puts that down to his fitness and a determination born out of having a strong word with himself in the summer about improving his goal contributions.
“I can’t see into the future and say it, but in terms of how I feel and my body, this is the best I’ve felt in my career. From such a bad setback to where I am now, I really feel like this is the best I’ve felt,” Millar told the Birmingham Mail.
“Ever since I was a kid at Liverpool they always said you’ve got your talent but your numbers need to be more, so I’ve always wanted to do that. I had a good chat with myself in the off-season and said this year I’m going to focus on scoring more and assisting more.”
Not many players are so candid about their ambitions in a profession where public statements can heap on the pressure, yet Millar is someone who has never shied away from speaking his mind.
Millar enjoyed a promising beginning to City’s 2024/25 season, recording four goal contributions across 11 appearances before experiencing every footballer’s worst nightmare: an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
With a whole season ruled out, Millar came back to feature for Sergej Jakirovic’s new-look unfancied outfit in last season’s Championship campaign, playing a key role in helping the Tigers to win promotion. The stats may show he only managed three goals and three assists across 36 league outings last season, but as Millar says, his contribution went beyond goals.
He explains; “It’s also about what you do with the ball, without the ball – even when you’re not getting goals and assists – for example, last season I felt like I played a lot of balls to (Ryan) Giles and Giles got a lot of assists for (Oli) McBurnie and I was really involved in a lot of the build-up to create goals.
“Even though I never got the assist, I felt like I was always very involved in the build-up. This is very important, but this year I want to take a real focus on scoring and assisting more and seeing where it can take me.”
Millar has set himself the goal of improving his statistics. His most productive Championship campaign to date stands at five goals and five assists in 35 appearances for Preston in 2023/24.
When you factor in his late winner in the Premier League clash with Coventry and an assist during a Carabao Cup victory at Stoke for the Tigers in the early weeks of the campaign, Millar has netted twice and provided four assists across seven appearances this season.
“It’s hard for me because for years I’ve wanted to add more goals and more assists,” Millar explained. “I felt like when I first came to Hull, in my first season I tried to implement that, I really had a focus to do that.
“Then obviously I had my big injury and I was out for a year. When I came back last season it was more about getting ready to play football again. It’s very difficult for anyone coming back from an ACL injury to be 100 percent all the time and to be at the best level.
“Last year was just about getting consistency and momentum into my game again. I wasn’t at my best, I wasn’t perfect last year, but that was a big thing for me to try and get my body used to playing football again.
“This summer, I felt like I had a good World Cup and a good off-season and I said to myself I feel like my body is at the best it’s been in a very long time. My knee feels amazing, my body feels amazing and I feel like I’m ready to compete again at the highest possible level.
“So I set myself a real target this year to score more and assist more. I’m maybe not thinking so much about dribbling, so much about being ‘super dangerous’ all the time, and just trying to increase my numbers.”