Liam Millar is refusing to give up on his Anfield dream as he looks to use his Kilmarnock return as a springboard into Jorgen Klopp’s star-studded Liverpool line-up.
The Canada international has signed on for a second loan stint at Rugby Park as he looks to prove himself to Klopp’s coaching staff.
He knows he has an almighty task in shifting Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino from the European champions’ famed attacking triumvirate.
But the ambitious teenager hopes the power of positive thinking will see him fulfil his footballing fantasies on Merseyside.
Millar – who featured for Klopp’s team in a pre-season clash at Bradford last month – said: “It was really good to play that one game under him and he seemed to know how well I’d been doing.
“It’s still a dream of mine to break into his team down there. They’re the best team in the world having won the Champions League.
“It’s obviously going to be very difficult. I mean they have Mane, Salah and Firmino, it’s almost impossible.
“But I’m not putting myself down by saying it will never happen because that’s negative thinking. If you want to achieve something you can’t start off by saying it won’t happen.
“You have to put your mind to it and do it. I know there are three of the best forward players in the world in front of me but if I keep pushing I don’t see why I couldn’t eventually be as good as them.”
Millar knows getting as many minutes of first-team action as possible will be vital if he is to reach the top and that was the prime reason why he chose to re-join Killie.
The 19-year-old – who could feature in Saturday’s clash at Hamilton – said: “It’s important for me to get as much game time as I can. I was here last year and it was a great club so I thought I could come back and enjoy it again.
“It was great working under Steve Clarke last year. He would say to me it’s better to play 20 minutes in the SPL than 60 for Liverpool’s Under-23s. The experience I’ll get here will only help me learn.”
Angelo Alessio is now in charge at Rugby Park and the Italian has been keen to provide his only striker Eamonn Brophy with some back-up.
The Scotland ace has not scored in open play since January but Millar reckons his arrival could relieve some of the tension from his strike partner’s shoulders.
He said: “I’m not here to take Brophy’s position but I am here to take some of the pressure off him when it comes to scoring all the goals.
“I’ll be trying to help him either with an assist or by scoring myself. If the pressure isn’t all on him hopefully he’ll be able to relax a bit more and things can start flowing.”
Millar struck just once in 14 appearances last term but his last-minute winner against St Mirren in March has got him hungry for more.
“That was my first professional goal and I’ve never felt a feeling like that in my life,” he said.
“It was like butterflies in my stomach and real emotion. Unbelievable. Imagine your first goal being a last-minute winner. You couldn’t write that script.
“My target is to hit double digits this year. I need to add more goals and assists to my game, more numbers because that’s what takes you further in your career.”
