By Kiro Evans
NEIL Harris felt the tactical discipline shown by his players in the triumph over Leicester City was as good as anything he has seen as Millwall boss.
The Lions stunned the league leaders on Tuesday night with a brilliant display to grab a 1-0 win courtesy of an outrageous strike by Ryan Longman.
It was a much-needed victory after Millwall slumped to consecutive losses against relegation rivals but they responded by putting in one of their best displays of the season. They ended the night four points clear of the relegation zone.
Harris, who has now taken charge of 254 Millwall games on a permanent basis, said the way his players executed his tactics was better than some of the famous FA Cup wins he delivered during his first spell in charge.
The Lions boss said: “That was so Millwall-like, wasn’t it? To lose at Rotherham and Huddersfield in the last minute of both games and then come back and beat the league leaders. It’s what this football club does.
“I’m delighted because it’s been a tough week for the football club and the fanbase. I could sense a little bit of nervousness and a bit of fear coming back in. I said to the group yesterday: ‘I haven’t got time for that. I’ve not come here for that. I’ve come here to galvanise and support and help. It’s down to you to go and show me.’ And they did. They’ve answered that critic again.
“I thought we scored a goal that was worthy of winning any game of football at this level. I thought the shape and discipline of the team was as good as any team I’ve put on the pitch here at The Den. And I’m talking about Brighton [FA Cup quarter-final penalty loss in 2019], Everton [FA Cup fourth-round win in 2019], Leicester [FA Cup fifth-round win in 2017]. I thought it was an excellent Millwall performance.”
The only negative for Millwall was a shoulder injury picked up by George Honeyman, which Harris said will be assessed in the coming days.
Kevin Nisbet is set to return from his prolonged injury absence while Tom Bradshaw came off the bench in the Millwall victory. This adds competition for the striker position up front after Michael Obafemi put in an impressive display against the Foxes.
Harris said: “Michael Obafemi has put in his best performance in a Millwall shirt for sure. He showed the hunger and desire to play as a Millwall number nine. Michael has set his standards.
“Tom Bradshaw is getting back to full fitness. We’re hoping Kevin Nisbet will be involved at the weekend as well. There’s competition for that place. Michael wants to play, he’s come here to play. If he’s going to play at that level and that’s the standard, it’s going to be difficult for anyone to dislodge him from the team. But that’s the standards that I demand from my number nines.”
The victory gave Millwall a huge boost to their survival hopes while also damaging Leicester’s automatic promotion ambitions. It has not escaped Harris’ attention that even by the Championship’s standards, it has been an unpredictable season full of twists.
He said: “The Championship is outstanding, it always is. Very rarely does the Championship disappoint. You look at the bottom of the league this year and look how close it is and that’s going to run to the last day of the season for sure. I just hope it’s not us involved.
“The top will probably run to the last day of the season and the play-offs, you just don’t know.”
