ADAM Miller is trying to keep his feet on the ground, but can't help dreaming about scoring the winner against Ipswich Town today.The midfielder was another of the Blues' highly productive Academy who looked as if he could be going places, but things didn't work out at Portman Road and he left only to slip into non-league obscurity.

By Derek Davis

ADAM Miller is trying to keep his feet on the ground, but can't help dreaming about scoring the winner against Ipswich Town today.

The midfielder was another of the Blues' highly productive Academy who looked as if he could be going places, but things didn't work out at Portman Road and he left only to slip into non-league obscurity.

QPR boss Ian Holloway spotted him playing for Aldershot, gave him a trial game in the reserves and snapped him up last December.

After a short spell at Canvey Island and then Gravesend Miller, who turned 23 last Saturday, thought his best hope of league football was getting promoted with Aldershot, which they almost did via the Conference play-offs last year, but instead he made his home debut for Rangers against the Blues in the 4-2 Town win earlier this season.

After a short spell cut adrift in the reserves Miller was back in the first-team fold for the 1-1 draw with Wolves on Tuesday, and he is hoping he can play a part at Portman Road today.

He said: “I can't deny it would be a dream to score the winner against Ipswich but just being involved at all would be brilliant.

“I'm really excited about going back to Ipswich. I played there in youth and reserve games but never in a first-team match so it would be amazing.”

After Miller's arrival at QPR he played regularly in the first team until he was cup-tied for their FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest and could not get back in the side.

That did not faze the former Stanway school pupil, who feels he has benefited from the brief break.

He said: “With the coaches they have at QPR you can't help but learn. Even though I was out of the team the manager and coaches spoke to me a lot about my game. I have been brought back in now and hopefully it is great timing on their part and I will score.

“The main thing though is for the team to win, those three points will be very important to us and even more importantly it would be by beating a great side.”

Like Tommy Miller, who was rejected as a 15-year-old and went to Hartlepool only to return as a fully-fledged professional, Adam Miller, no relation, only now fully appreciates what Town offer. He believes getting James Scowcroft back is a great move, for both parties.

He said: “James has had a right touch going back. It is only when you have gone that you realise how much you miss Ipswich. It will be terrific for me to see old friends who helped me so much, like Paul Goddard, Bryan Klug and Simon Milton.

“It will be good to see the players I knew too like Darren Bent, who I roomed with for a tournament in Italy, and Ian Westlake, Matt Richards and Richard Naylor who all made a point of speaking to me at Loftus Road, which was really good.”

Miller's manager Ian Holloway is not quite so sentimental about visiting Ipswich and still feels hard done by from the 4-2 defeat in December.

He said: “To be honest I felt they robbed us that day. It was just a shame that those two terrific Paul Furlong goals were not enough for us to win it.”

Holloway is likely to stick with the same side that drew with Wolves and do what most teams do when they arrive at Portman Road and stick five across the middle of the park, although Kevin Gallen can quickly push forward to make it a 4-4-2.

The only new addition to the squad will be keeper Generoso Rossi, who is now free to play after being banned by Italian authorities in a betting scandal. He replaces Chris Day, who has joined Preston on loan.