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Calvin Miller makes his Hearts position clear as he refuses to talk like a defender The winger scored his first Tynecastle goal against Dundee United There is an understandable reluctance from Calvin Miller to acknowledge his defensive skills. He is a winger to trade and has no intention of changing despite an outstanding display at left-back for Hearts against Dundee United. He tackled aggressively, intercepted and cleared when needed, marked New Zealand internationalist Jesse Randall so well he was substituted by United, got forward to attack, and scored a penalty-kick. Just don’t call him a full-back. Miller left formative club Celtic in 2020 and spent the last three years with Falkirk establishing himself as one of Scotland’s most dangerous wide players. That earned him a summer move to Hearts, where he is gradually adapting to the wants of head coach Wouter Vrancken. Miller would never refuse to play out of position if that is what the Belgian requires. He did so to great effect during Sunday’s 4-0 win over United with specialist left-backs Harry Milne and Stephen Kingsley injured. However, the player makes his feelings clear when asked if he is Hearts’ new left-back. “I don’t enjoy defending. No winger enjoys defending. I was just trying to be enthusiastic, energetic and aggressive. It kind of all clicked when I was doing it. I was happy with that. I don’t want to say I enjoy clean sheets because that is what defenders say,” he smiled. “We got a good result. We did it with a bit of style, four goals and a clean sheet. I am buzzing with that and my first goal for the club. It means a lot. I found out on Saturday that I was playing left-back. The gaffer pulled me in that morning. He said six out of nine of the defenders are injured and he asked me if I could do a job. I’m not going to say no, am I? I am always going to do what I can for the team. I am just thankful I have come out and put on a good performance. “There was a spell last season in a game for Falkirk last season where I did a job [at left-back] for 15 minutes. Prior to that it would have been eight or nine years ago. I was just trying to be aggressive in my defending, being touch-tight and doing what I don’t like as a winger when I come up against full-backs.” Miller may find himself handed another left-back outing against Benfica on Thursday. Hearts face a 6-1 deficit from the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round in Lisbon. Marking Rafa Silva would be a rather more arduous task than taking care of Randall. “I’m going to speak to Harry Milne and tell him to get himself in the group,” laughed Miller. “I will do the job for the team at any point, but I want to be in my ideal position because that is how I got to Hearts, playing on the wing. “It was a difficult start in terms of the ties we have been drawn in Europe. We are still learning - learning the manager’s style and how he wants to play. You could see on Sunday the moments we had and the variety of goals we scored. They were all different types of goals and that was pleasing that it all came together. We really needed that and I was just buzzing to get off the mark. It is a big club and that was huge.” His penalty was calmly converted down the middle to put Hearts 2-0 ahead. Miller has sufficient penalty-taking experience to cope in that situation. “I would back myself. I was on penalties for Falkirk last season. It was decided before the game. I have been on them for the last two games. We have a list. I put myself forward and back myself. It was good to see that one going in. I always practice the day before a game. “We really needed that on Sunday. It is tough going from European ties and back into the Premiership. If you aren’t getting the result midweek, then you really want to be winning your games at the weekend. It will give us confidence. There were a lot of positives and we are trying to make it as hard as possible on Thursday. Last year, when I was on the other side of the Tynecastle atmosphere, I hadn’t got a win or scored a goal. To come here, score and to win it was a class atmosphere. It is a moment I will remember. When you have that crowd backing you, then Tynecastle can be a tough place to come. We will be needing that on Thursday. The pitch isn’t as big as Benfica’s, so it will be a lot tighter for them to try and play as well. We will make it as hard as possible.”