Express & Star

Ishmael Miller paid tribute to Albion talisman Kevin Phillips after watching his Hawthorns mentor secure another point in the race for promotion.

Phillips produced a fine finish to grab his 21st goal of the season at The Valley with a vital equaliser just before half-time.

And Miller revealed he is trying to pick up some tricks of the trade from the former England man.

“He is a great finisher as we have seen down the years,” said 21-year-old Miller.

“He scores bags of goals for fun and it’s great to have a player in your team who can pop up with a goal  from nothing.

“We’ve got other players who can do the same but Kev has done it for many years.

“He is a great player and a great person to look up to and learn from.”

Miller was deployed in an unfamiliar wide role in a 4-5-1 formation as manager Tony Mowbray opted for an extra man in midfield.

And the former Manchester City man was pleased with how the new-look formation went.

“I just want to be playing football and if we can get a result I’m not bothered where I play,” said Miller, who now joins up with the England under-21 squad for their game with Poland at Molineux on Tuesday.

“We’ve got a few injuries in the wide positions and the manager just wanted me to do a job and I feel I did all right out there.

“It’s not my favourite position but I’ll play anywhere because I just want to play football.

“We were just showing everybody that team are together and we are ready to give 110 per cent to get out of this league.”

Miller was pleased with the performance but disappointed with the result.

And he was left cursing Albion’s luck after a late strike by Zoltan Gera rattled the bar.

Miller said: “I feel we had the better of the game and we’re disappointed that we didn’t come away with all three points but it’s a positive that we’ve played such a big club and dominated them for the full 90 minutes.

“We can only be positive now because if we play like that against most clubs this season we will win most games.

“They’ve got quality players because they’re a big club with a lot of fans.

“They’re a club who will always have quality players but I think we dominated them for the majority of the game.

“It gives the players confidence but we know what we can do and what we possess in our team and our squad.

“We just feel a little bit disappointed that we didn’t leave with the full three points that we all feel we deserved.

“It was a great strike from Zoltan and from the bench I was just hoping it would drop in but it was unlucky for us.

“That’s how football goes but hopefully next time it will go in when we desperately need it.”