Goals justify joining Albion: Miller

Hat-trick hero Ishmael Miller claimed firing Albion to Wembley justified his decision to quit Manchester City for The Hawthorns.

And the £900,000 signing believes the Baggies of 2008 can now repeat the club’s unique promotion and FA Cup double of 1931.

Miller wrapped up his permanent move from Eastlands in January after switching on loan in the summer and six weeks later he is anticipating a trip to Wembley.

He said: “It’s a great feeling because it will be my first time at Wembley.

“I’m still young and it will be a great feeling and a great atmosphere for myself and my family.

“I just wanted to be playing regular football and wherever I can play regularly is where I want to be.

“That’s what I dreamed about as a kid – playing on a Saturday and in cups like this and that’s why I’m here. We’ve got great fans at home and away, but especially away.

“We take a lot of people with us and we’ve got a great atmosphere around the club at the moment.”

And Miller is convinced any of the four teams left in the FA Cup are capable of lifting the trophy, although he admitted it remains second on Albion’s list of targets after promotion to the Premiership.

“We’ve seen some shock results this year and I don’t think anything is too far away,” he said.

“We’ve got to the semi-final now but hopefully we can push on to the final and we’ve only got to win two games now.

“We really need to be pushing on in the league to get to the Premier League because that’s a big thing as well.

“Hopefully we can take both as far as we possibly can.”

Miller left the Memorial Stadium clutching the matchball after bagging his first professional hat-trick and he already has a place in his home reserved for the “trophy”.

“It’s going on the mantlepiece. I’ve got a place for it already,” he added.

“I’ve been thinking about it and it’s going somewhere where everybody can see it.

“It was my first hat-trick and hopefully it will be the first of many and we can push on in the Cup and the league.”

The semi-final will be Albion’s first since 1982 and Miller believes they have the squad to succeed in the league and FA Cup.

“I think we have got a lot of great players here,” he said.

“Roman Bednar has come in and done exceptionally well and got a lot of goals.

“We’ve got people like James Morrison, who has come back and scored a goal, and we’ve got Kevin back from injury and Luke Moore.

“We’ve got a lot of good players at the club. We’ve got a great squad for this league as we need to take it as far as we possibly can. We’ve got the squad and the backing of the fans so hopefully we can do it.

“It’s a long time since 1982 and hopefully we can push on and get to the final. This will be my first time at Wembley and hopefully it will be the first of many.”