David Gray has told Lewis Miller he 'can be anything he wants to be' in football - if he keeps working to refine his game.

As a former right-back, the Hibs head coach says he's been heavily involved in coaching the 24-year-old Australian, who he sees as having all the attributes to be a success at Easter Road. Miller's performances can split opinion among supporters, but he's been a regular pick in Gray's back four this season.

He says the coaching staff have been working hard to iron out issues in the defender's game, while attempting to maximise his athletic abilities. And he believes that Miller, now away on international duty with the Socceroos, knows he has areas to work on.

“How long have you got?  It's an interesting question," said Gray when asked about Miller's character and personality. "I'm interested to see how he'll do, going away without Martin Boyle to hold his hand, to be honest. In all seriousness, he's someone who can be anything he wants to be. When you look at him from an athletic point of view, he regularly shows those attributes.

“He also has moments where he knows he needs to improve, and that's something we've really worked hard on in the last year and a half since he's been at the club, to be honest. Having played the same position as me, from a coaching point of view, there's a lot of things that I try and help him with. But he is such a big, strong, powerful boy that he can really affect games of football."

Miller endured a tough summer at the Asia Cup, making costly errors in giving away a penalty and a free-kick that led directly to a South Korea goal in Australia's quarter-final exit. The mistakes sparked a wave of criticism in the Aussie media, and while Gray admits it was a 'tough time' for the player, he sees a player able to take setbacks on the chin.

“Yes, he was going through a tough time, but he's a confident big guy as well, so he has got a lot of faith in his ability and he just seems to take everything in his stride," said the Hibs head coach. “That's the type of personality he's got and it's good that he's able to bounce back from these things pretty quickly. So I think he's responded really well, and it's great that he's still in the squads and pushing on. My focus is on his performances here and hopefully, when he gets the opportunity, he plays to his maximum."

As Gray alluded to, Miller departed for World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan without Boyle, who is still recovering from surgery on a wrist injury. The 31-year-old hasn't featured in either of Hibs' last two fixtures, and wasn't quite ready to feature against Motherwell at the weekend. Gray maintains he would never oppose a player wanting to represent their country, but says it's to the club's benefit that Boyle will get extra time to recover before Hibs return to Premiership action at Dundee United on October 19.

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“Well, ideally, selfishly for me, 100%, you want him here all the time, I think," said Gray. "The fewer games that the players play benefits the football club. But at the same time you never want to stand in the way of a player looking to represent their country, it's the greatest achievement you can get, so it's that balance in between. And I think the biggest thing is if the player's happy, I think if he's happy and he's fit and he wants to go and play, and he's feeling good about himself, I think you always want to encourage that.

“If their form's really good as well, you want them to play as many games as they can and keep that going. But in this situation, because he's not played any games since he's hurt his hand and had his operation, it's better that he's probably missing this trip, that would probably be the right thing, just with the timing of it as well."