Both the proper people and players are sought after by Preston North End, and Liam Millar appears to fit both of those criteria.
Although the Canadian’s tenure in Deepdale is still relatively young, he has already proven himself to the loyal Lilywhites fans. Millar made his debut against Plymouth Argyle and scored a fantastic solo goal. He has since shown off his direct dribbling skills while playing a number of positions, primarily left wing-back.
Individually and collectively, Millar’s most difficult task to date occurred on his most recent outing. In Preston’s ninth game of the season, West Brom destroyed them 0-4 to hand Ryan Lowe’s team their first league loss. Although the nature of the defeat was difficult to accept, Millar was remarkably cool-headed after the game and emphasized the value of learning.
“I think I’ve played a lot of games in my career for my age,” he asserted. “I simply try to view things in the context of a larger picture and avoid becoming overly preoccupied with the here and now. When I was younger, I believe it was one of my problems, and it really affected me because I would feel bad about my performance and carry that feeling over to the next game. Now that today wasn’t wonderful, I think I can finally move on and ask myself, “Okay, what am I going to do throughout the week to make sure next week isn’t the same?” Then, everything improves; I believe that comes with experience.
Overall, Millar is happy with his debut in the Championship after joining on loan from FC Basel on the final day of the transfer window. The division presents the Swiss Super League with a brand-new challenge, which Millar is eager to take on. The Canadian is aware that more of those tests are ahead after his fourth appearance, during which Albion defenders paid close attention to him.
With the kind of player I am, I anticipate running into situations like these, remarked Millar. “I just need to look for ways to escape from it. With two or three players covering me every time I touched the ball, the game was challenging for me. I had to succeed.
Maybe trying to get past that is one of my learning curves. It strikes me as being very physical, quick, demanding, and quite unpredictable. We had eight games without a loss, so to lose this game is just the Championship. I believe that by simply participating in the league, I can gradually learn. Of course, playing in the Championship and learning is one of the reasons I returned to England. I’ve watched the Championship for a very long time, but for me, it’s definitely new and the first time experiencing it. I was trying to come up with one benefit from the (West Brom) game, and I finally decided on the fact that I didn’t cramp. My body has adjusted to it.
“It was going to take a few games because the Championship has a different pace than the Swiss league, but I didn’t feel any cramping. Everything I’ve been doing has obviously been effective. I feel fantastic. The guys have been wonderful to me and have welcomed me right in. They attempt to motivate me to perform better whenever I might not accomplish something really well. All you need is a solid group of guys who will support you when you’re down and encourage you when you’re succeeding. All you can hope for is that.
PNE will travel to the King Power Arena on Wednesday night to face Leicester City. With games against the top two teams in the Championship, Ipswich Town and the demoted Foxes, North End will have a challenging week on the road. However, Millar thinks mentality is essential for him and his teammates given that Preston is directly behind them in third place.
It’s clear that this side is elite because legends and former Premier League players are present, he remarked. “But I believe it’s crucial — something we did with Canada when we traveled to the World Cup was to approach it as though we were all on the same page and deserving of the same level of respect. Therefore, anything may happen throughout the game as long as everyone is on the same page for the full 90 minutes. We’ll go, do our best, and then see what transpires. In that game, we must play to our highest potential; if we do, everything will be OK.
