PORTMAN Road or Highfield Road? That was the burning question for Tommy Miller during the summer of 2001.It was a narrow squeak, but midfielder Miller finally opted for Ipswich Town, rather than today's hosts Coventry City.

PORTMAN Road or Highfield Road? That was the burning question for Tommy Miller during the summer of 2001.

It was a narrow squeak, but midfielder Miller finally opted for Ipswich Town, rather than today's hosts Coventry City. He has not looked back, writes Carl Marston.

Miller, who has finally regained his place in the team after a season of injury and frustration, hopes to reaffirm his decision of two-and-a-half-years ago, by plotting the downfall of the Sky Blues on their home patch.

The 25-year-old rifled home two cracking goals in the 6-4 win over Crewe Alexandra a fortnight ago, and he also started against Sunderland in the FA Cup defeat last weekend.

He certainly has no regrets about choosing Ipswich ahead of Coventry.

"There were three clubs chasing me. They had all made the same offers, so it was up to me to make a decision," explained former Hartlepool favourite Miller.

"Crewe, Coventry and Ipswich were the three clubs. I remember Coventry boss Gordon Strachan coming up to meet me in a hotel at Scotch Corner.

"I was very impressed with what he had to say that weekend, and had agreed to meet him on the Monday afternoon. I liked his ideas and he was a top man.

"But I visited Portman Road on Monday morning, and immediately made my decision. It was a great chance for me to play in the Premier League and also in Europe. I had to go for it, and I've enjoyed every minute since.

"I've played in the Premier League and scored a goal in the UEFA Cup, so I have no regrets," added Miller.

It has been a thought-provoking week for Miller, in the lead up to today's visit to Coventry, because he has again been named in the Scotland Futures provisional squad for their friendly fixture against Wales A next month.

Miller is yet to make his debut for Scotland. He has withdrawn from the squad before, due to injury, and he is yet to make a final decision on his international future. He qualifies via a grandmother from Kirkcaldy.

"I'm in the provisional squad, but I don't think the final squad will be announced until February 12," explained Miller.

"I'll wait and see whether I'm in that before making a decision. I know that I'm a million miles away from playing for England, but I don't feel very Scottish.

"However, it's a great honour to be in the frame, and Matt Holland has shown what you can do by enjoying success for Republic of Ireland, even though he isn't particularly Irish."

Miller has only started 13 games for Town this season, but he is looking to make up for lost time.

"My season has finally got going. It's been frustrating for me," admitted Miller.

"Tendonitis in my knee, which I suffered after the West Ham home match at the end of August, kept me out for six weeks. That knocked a big chunk out of the season.

"And when I was coming back, the team was on a great run. It's been difficult to get back into the side, because they've been doing so well in my absence.

"Scoring goals is a big part of my game. I've always felt that I could score goals, throughout my career. My scoring record at both Hartlepool and Ipswich has been good.

"It was good to score a couple against Crewe, and hopefully that can continue at Coventry.

"We must forget about last weekend's defeat by Sunderland. We are out of the FA Cup, so we can concentrate on the league.

"It would have been nice to have had a Cup run, especially with a lot of the Premiership teams playing each other in the next round. I reckon that a Division One club has a good chance of at least reaching the semi-finals.

"Coventry are still in the Cup. They have a replay at Colchester next week, and they will think that they have a good chance of some Cup glory this season.

"Hopefully, they will have one eye on that replay, because they haven't really got the play-offs to aim for," added Miller.