Lions boss on his ideal fixture start ahead of 2024-25 Championship schedule announcement – with Leeds fixture always big dates

Millwall head coach Neil Harris is hoping for a home game to kick off the 2024-25 Championship season, with the fixtures set to be announced on Wednesday morning.

And the Lions chief admits that their two matches against Leeds United are also two of the first dates he will be looking for. Clubs get advance notice of their matches with the schedule made public at 9am.

The Yorkshire club are facing a second successive year in England’s second tier after losing the Championship play-off final to Southampton at the end of May.

“I always like to be at home the first game of the season,” Harris told the South London Press. “And I always look to when we play Leeds home and away, they are always a key one for me.

“I always look for the Christmas schedule, that is vitally important for the balance of the football club, for fixtures and for family life – it is a key period.

“Other than that, you have an individual opinion on the games you’d like first up and teams you don’t want to face. Ultimately the fixtures are drawn randomly and you get who you are given.

“We look forward to Wednesday, I always think it’s a big day in the annual football calendar.

“Even during the Euros, when there is a football focus, that is international football – fixtures release day in the EFL really sets the tone for a huge part of the population to start thinking about club football again.”