GEORGE Miller's year has come full circle as the young Bury striker prepares to play a key role for his boyhood club over the festive period, writes Ryan Johnson.

The 18-year-old Bolton-born front man made his full debut for the Shakers against Barnsley in February but admits he was in a "bad place" after being forced to wait until October for his second taste of first-team action.

In between, he tore ankle ligaments that kept him on the sidelines for two months and was largely overlooked by previous boss David Flitcroft.

But injuries and suspensions to key personnel pushed the academy graduate back into the reckoning, and after scoring on his first outing of the campaign in a 3-2 defeat at Northampton, Miller has "not looked back", yesterday signing a contract extension that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2019.

“At the start of the season I tore the ligaments in my ankle and was injured for eight weeks, and then was loaned out as I struggled to break into the previous manager’s plans,” he said.

“I was in a bad place, I thought that was it for me becoming a footballer, but as of late I’ve been scoring in the Under-23s games.

“I was given my chance against Northampton and from there I haven’t looked back.”

Miller took his goal tally for the season to three in seven appearances after scoring in last Saturday's 4-2 defeat at Bristol Rovers, following on from his strike at Northampton and at Stoke in the Checkatrade Trophy.

And he plans to add many before the end of the campaign, starting with today's match at home to Oxford United.

“To score that first goal was great, because at times, I thought it would never happen,” he added. “I now have that goal under my belt and nobody can take that away from me.

“My aims for the season now are to try and keep scoring goals, which is easier said than done, but that’s what I’m put on the pitch to do.

“I put pressure on myself because if I don’t score, no matter how well I play, I’ll be annoyed at my performance.”

Bury go into today's game 20th in League One, one place and two points above the drop zone.

Miller is yet to taste victory in a Bury shirt, with his chance to shine coinciding with the side setting a new club record of 11 straight league defeats.

The youngster is eager to help end that nightmare run and usher in a new era with Chris Brass as head coach with a welcome win.

“We just need get out of this rut by starting to grind out a few results," he said.

“Hopefully we can turn this bad form into results.

"With Brassy and (assistant head coach) Ryan (Kidd) taking over, the style is changing, and when it all clicks I think we will look like a good outfit.”