O'Neill: Miller his own man

CELTIC manager Martin O'Neill was last night insisting his first priority was to sign a new contract with Liam Miller.

"People tell me he's the next David Beckham or the next Roy Keane, but my response to that is he is the next nobody," said O'Neill.

"The fact is he is the new Liam Miller and he is going to create his own reputation in international football, rather than rely on old fashioned comparisons. Liam was tremendous for us last night, he helped run the show, and it's obvious he is a special talent."

The painfully shy Miller left Parkhead without offering any substance to these claims; however, the Celtic faithful, allied to a number of former greats, have decided that the young Corkman is the inspirational figure who can propel Celtic into the last 16 of the Champions League.

"He has a pace and a vision and I don't think Celtic have seen such a talented player since the days of Kenny Dalglish," said the former Lisbon lion, Bobby Lennox.

"Liam seems to have so much time on the ball, and he is composure personified when it comes to moving upfield and making things happen. Obviously, Celtic are going to lose out when Henrik Larsson leaves the club at the end of next season, but players like Liam can make sure there is a huge future for this club."

Celtic goalkeeper Magnus Hedman urged O'Neill yesterday to tie Miller to a new contract immediately or risk losing "probably the best 22-year-old in the world".

Miller's performance had his team-mate drawing instant comparisons with Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg when he first burst onto the international scene with Sweden.

"Liam Miller was sensational again and he's that good and can link up with everybody," said Hedman. "I rate him as highly as anybody at that age I've seen over the years.

"I remember when Freddie Ljungberg came in at U21 level for Sweden and I thought he was something exceptional.

"They are two different players but they are a similar quality. The possibilities are endless and he is well up there, Liam.

"European games are what bring players a long way and if you can be a big-match player at that age, what are you going to be when you are 25 or 26?"

Anderlecht manager Hugo Broos also became a fully paid-up member of Miller's fan club.

"I wasn't surprised with his performance because I had seen him before against us in Belgium and also in Munich.

"He is a great talent and he influenced them and worked hard, so he was one of the best players in the Celtic team."

Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr is certain to include Miller and Notts Forest's Andy Reid when he names his squad today for the friendly match against Canada at Lansdowne Road on Tuesday, November 18.

Reid has been no less influential with Forest this season. Like Miller, he has played for all of Ireland's underage teams and with Forest this season and has delighted the fans with his skill, explosive finishing power and work-rate.

Reid yesterday scooped the Division One Player of the Month award for October, although Paul Hart's men won just two of their seven games.

This will be the first time for Ireland to play Canada and, in a very real sense, it marks the beginning of the Brian Kerr era. When he took over from Mick McCarthy last February Ireland were heavily involved in the European Championship qualifying series and opportunities to experiment were limited.

Kerr will be expected to look to players who moved out of the U21 international scene in the last couple of years in an effort to strengthen his first-team squad with others like Sean Thornton (Sunderland), Alan Lee (Cardiff City) and Alan Quinn of Sheffield Wednesday, who has been on loan at Sunderland, coming into focus.

Thornton will not be in the squad named today because he is injured.

Ireland's next big competitive date is Friday, December 5 when the draw for the qualifying tournament for the World Cup of 2006 will be made in Frankfurt.

Meanwhile, John O'Shea believes that if Roy Keane had still been playing for the Republic of Ireland they would have qualified for the European Championship finals.

Keane was again outstanding in United's Champions League victory against Rangers in midweek.

O'Shea would love nothing better than teaming up with him again on the international stage.

"I know what an influence he has on the United team, so I know what an influence he could have had on the Republic of Ireland team.

"We had a poor start, got it back together but it was just a bit too much. Maybe if we had a Keano it could have been different.

"We needed to win at home against Russia and we still had a chance in Switzerland. I would like to have seen how he would have driven the team.

"I remember watching him in the World Cup qualifiers against Holland and Portugal. They were two of his best performances for Ireland and he was the main reason we qualified."