Manager Neil Harris has spoken in more detail about the postponed game against Oldham Athletic last weekend, and also given some thoughts about Gillingham this coming Saturday.
Beginning with his wider thoughts on the postponement, in quotes carried by the South London Press the gaffer said the main problem on the day for the referee was that it was known that the rain wouldn’t stop, so conditions would only get worse on the day.
‘The real problem was that the rain was going to continue. There was a lot of debate. The referee made the decision with the groundsman and the head of security at Boundary Park because he was convinced it would not get better – and we understood that. The weather, going home on the M6, was severe. There are no positives out of that kind of thing. We had done a lot of preparation for the game and the supporters had come a long way. We just have to get on with it and go again against Gillingham.’
Having recently been up against former club Southend United, having referenced Gillingham, he went on to talk about another former club of his and how he expects a very difficult test from the Priestfield outfit.
‘It is a local derby. There are bragging rights at stake and, as it is local, we expect them to bring a few. As we saw at Southend, our fans will turn out in force for this type of fixture. We expect to get two good games against them this season. There will be two really strong, solid sides, having a battle. I am looking forward to it and so are the team. We hope there will be a good crowd and a good atmosphere.’
Harris went on to say that the players had been given a couple of days off, so he expected them to be very fit and fresh for the match, ready to give their all for the fans once more.
With nobody above us winning last weekend, Harris went on to say he’s not looking at the table, he’s only focused on how we do game by game – at least until we get much closer to the end of the season.
‘I don`t really take much notice of how we are doing. What matters is looking at and studying our opponents and I watch their goals, too. But it is down to us to find out consistency and to get a run of results which keep us going in the right direction. Then the points tally will take care of itself. You only get to be high up in the table if win your games – you have to let everything else take care of itself.’
In a final interview – and following on from Steve Morison’s words about team spirit and younger players sticking with the club to develop fully that was covered in another piece, Harris also said Millwall were at the beginning of a journey still and building a club up, and team spirit doesn’t happen overnight.
With various speculation already linking the links of Aiden O’Brien and Jordan Archer to higher level clubs, Harris explained.
‘Our young players would do well to take advice from the likes of Steve, Tony Craig, Nadjim Abdou and Carlos Edwards. Team spirit cannot be built overnight – it takes time and consistent personnel to build up the right kind of trust and camaraderie in the dressing room. It takes matches and years to build the relationships and partnerships, lots of away trips and pre-season. It will be vital to our success. We are trying to do it quickly but have made massive strides in a short time. That`s what you need to build long-term success at any level, and certainly in the division we are
trying to get out of. I am very mindful of that. The players are happy and trust me. We are on the right road. Besides, none of our players will be sold in January. There will be some change and turnover in the summer.’
Vital Millwall on:
Vital Millwall on:
Harris Talks Oldham & Gillingham
