Calvin Miller eyes Scotland recall as he settles into life at Hearts

Calvin Miller believes an impressive first season at Hearts could finally earn him the Scotland call-up that eluded him at Falkirk. The winger, who joined the Tynecastle club this summer, has told fans and his new manager Wouter Vrancken that he is determined to stand out in a crowded Hearts squad.

The 28-year-old was one of the standout performers in the Scottish Premiership last season while at Falkirk, with talk at the time that he was in line for a first international cap. That recognition never arrived under former Scotland boss Steve Clarke, but Miller is hopeful a change of regime at national level could work in his favour.

“Hopefully. There was a situation last year when I was doing well and there was talk of me maybe getting a call up or whatever. But maybe being at Falkirk I was a bit overlooked,” Miller said. “Club size might come into it when you’re up against players from Celtic, Rangers and Hearts. All the bigger clubs, maybe their players get in first.”

He added: “There’s a few boys in there who weren’t playing but had been in Clarke’s squad for a while, so it’s a bit of a loyalty thing as well, which is fair, that’s down to him. Maybe it’ll freshen up with a new manager and if I can hit the same heights as I did last season, maybe I’ll get a chance which would be nice.”

A quick change of manager at Tynecastle

Miller’s arrival at Hearts has come with an unusual twist, given he is already working under his second manager despite not yet playing a competitive match for the club. He had held several conversations with Derek McInnes before the former boss departed to take charge of Rangers, leaving Wouter Vrancken to take the reins at Tynecastle.

“I was in quite a strange situation to be honest because I’d spoken to Derek maybe three or four times,” Miller explained. “He was telling me what he wanted from me, as you can imagine, and how he’d wanted me in for a while. I’d spoken to a couple of other boys and they said how good he was to work under.”

He continued: “He’s a top manager, so I was really looking forward to working with him in that sense, but then these situations occur and we’ve got a new manager now. I’m delighted that he’s trying to play a bit more football. It’s going to be a different style of play to what it was last season, which might suit me, considering I came from Falkirk who were a passing team as well.”

Adapting to a demanding pre-season

Hearts have been put through a testing pre-season trip to Spain under Vrancken, and Miller admits the adjustment has been as mentally taxing as it has been physically demanding. He says the volume of new information has required a period of adaptation as he learns a different style to the one he was used to at Falkirk.

“It’s been good so far. Tough actually, just with the heat, but I’ve settled in nicely,” Miller said. “We’ve been given a lot of information actually. I know he wants to play football and when I was at Falkirk last season, we had that brand of football in terms of playing out and stuff, the patterns of play. But under Vrancken, it’s not the same, it’s different.”

He added: “So I’m just taking new bits of information on and trying to construct them as fast as possible. So as much as he’s physically demanding, it’s mentally as well – you’ve got to be on the ball. I just feel like you constantly need to be switched on. When you get used to it, it just becomes automatic. This is a new situation so there’s a lot of thinking behind what you’re doing, so that’s been tough too.”

Competition for places and a Champions League test

Miller, a former Celtic youth player, was a regular starter under John McGlynn at Falkirk but now faces stiff competition for a wide berth at Hearts, with Josh McPake, Rogers Mato, Alexandros Kyziridis and Sabah Kerjota among those vying for the same positions.

“There’s not just a lot of wingers, there’s a lot of players,” Miller said. “There’s a squad of 40, so that in itself is going to be tough – but I back my own ability and I’ll try my hardest to get myself involved. If that takes a while then it’ll take a while, but I’ll try to prove that I can play for us.”

He added: “I did it last season with Falkirk and was able to play in the Premiership. I think you need players who know the league and have done it, so I’m hoping that’s a big factor in what the gaffer’s going to do as well.”

Hearts are preparing for both a Scottish Premiership campaign and a Champions League qualifier against Sturm Graz later this month, and Miller acknowledged the size of the squad reflects the scale of the challenge ahead.

“You do need a big squad. Injuries can happen so everybody has got to be on their toes and ready to step in at any point,” Miller said. “I’ve not really thought about it (the Champions League). I’m just trying to get my fitness and sharpness up, I feel fit already, it’s just getting that match sharpness.”