Young strike duo John Marquis and Aiden O’Brien have declared the 2015-16 season as their year to step up at The Den and prove their worth.
Both players were speaking to the official site and with the pressure on to try and bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking given our relegation to League One – and if failing to do that we just have a much improved year that shows the foundations for growth are back in place – both know this year is key for them to take their careers to the next step and prove they are worthy of leading the line.
With manager Neil Harris wanting four senior strikers to compliment and offer options, fellow striker Jamie Philpot is already in the mix following his breakthrough last year, but for the moment at least, 23 year old Marquis and 21 year old O’Brien allied to Lee Gregory are the starting candidates.
Beginning with Marquis who now has over 100 senior appearances to his name following his time with us, and various loan spells out to aide his development, he explained he had to build on his spell at Gillingham last year where he scored eight times in 18 starts.
‘On the back of that loan spell I really wanted to come back here and play. I can’t wait to get cracking and prove that I’m capable of playing and scoring at Millwall. Last season I learned a lot about my own game. I was fit, sharp, and playing week-in week-out as part of a two man strike-force. My confidence is now high after that experience, and playing under Neil Harris, who has been a great help to me during my development as a player, I’m really looking forward to this season.’
Moving onto O’Brien given the partnership he built up with Gregory towards the latter end of the campaign, he’s also determined to make the most of this year.
‘I have now had a taste of it and I need to kick on. I see this one coming up as my first proper season as a pro’ and I’m aiming for double figures in terms of goals.’
Vital Millwall on:
Vital Millwall on: