Miller's Road to Recovery

Mickel Miller’s time as a Pilgrim has been stop-start to say the least.

The exciting wing-back picked up an injury on the eve of the new Sky Bet League One season, meaning his debut did not come until a late substitute appearance at Burton Albion in November.

Miller played 45 minutes as a starter in the Papa Johns Trophy and at Cambridge United in the league, either side of another cameo against Port Vale before injury issues flared up once again.

Two months later, Miller was somewhat surprisingly named in the starting line-up as Argyle met Portsmouth at Home Park last Saturday, but played 67 minutes, and caught the eye with his direct running. Miller played a part in Argyle’s opening goal in a 3-1 win, and was naturally delighted to be back in action.

“It was amazing,” he said. “Being back around the team and starting; it was a good feeling.

“I've been training for about three weeks now. I felt good, felt sharp. I thought I was going to blow up earlier! But I felt good.

“I’m feeling good and feeling positive. Every time I've played, I always thought ‘I don’t want to feel something at the end.’ Being able to get through 67 minutes was positive. I'm feeling good.

“I know the manager will want to look after me, being out for a while. I’ve just got to make sure I'm doing the right things, recover well, and be ready for when I get my next opportunity.”

Keeping in physical health is one thing, but having injury issues can play havoc with a player’s mental health. Mickel talked us through some of the thought processes he experienced after his injury recurrence, and cited the healthy atmosphere and league position among the squad as a boon as he was getting back to fitness.

“It is such a mental barrier that you have to overcome and manage,” he said. “If you're not careful, you can let it consume you. Being told when you get injured again, you start thinking: ‘oh no, I can't help the team.’

“So many things go through your head: I just want to do well myself; I've just signed; I haven't played many games; fans want to see me play.

“You have to channel it. When you have good players and good staff around you manage to get through it like a lot easier.

“If you're coming back into a struggling team, you might get rushed back or you might come back and feel pressure. Obviously, you feel pressure coming back because you want to do well, but the team's doing well, I like seeing everyone do well.

“That makes everything easier. As well as the boys are doing, they're wanting to see me back as well, so it's a nice feeling.”

Miller’s elevation to the starting 11 against Portsmouth was one of eight changes to the Argyle side, such is the depth of the Pilgrims’ squad.

This means selection options for manager Steven Schumacher, but what of the players now competing for a berth in the team?

Miller says that among the squad, there is an understanding of Schumacher’s task to keep players happy and well-rested where necessary – and says that the harmony among the Argyle dressing room is not typical of every club.

“We know that there's loads of competition in the team, but everyone wants to see everyone do well, which is good,” Mickel said.

“You don't get that everywhere when the squad's that big.

“I'd say continue trusting what the manager's doing. Sometimes like when you get rotated - he made eight changes - people might be thinking: ‘what's going on?’

“But when you have that option to bring eight fresh players in, it's a good option to have. One comes in and another comes out and it doesn't change anything. It’s a good thing to have in our squad and it's working. I feel like the boys are sticking together, being with each other on and off to pitch is very important, because we're going to need everyone.

“I can only describe it from like a wing-backs view; I'm close to Joe [Edwards] and Bali [Mumba], we have a good connection with each other. If one's playing, another one's encouraging, telling him what he's done well and what he could have done.

“We're constantly just trying to push each other even though someone's in your position playing ahead of you.

“You can't ask for like a better group to have.”