Even Millwall substitute roles are prized as boss Harris revels in selection opportunities

By Richard Cawley

richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Millwall boss Neil Harris feels he now has the personnel to change his side based on the opposition – and that runs right the way down to his substitutes.

The Lions strengthened again during the January transfer window.

And Harris spoke about some of his players who did not even make the 18 for Friday night’s 1-1 draw with Cardiff City.

“Tonight I’ve left out Fergie, Harry Toffolo, Thommo – three good players – out of the 18. Probably the first time in my tenure, almost three years now, that I’m able to make big decisions on players – not just in the starting 11 but in the squad.

‘Players have to realise I can pick players that suit certain games – for the team and the bench. That’s a sign of the times – where we’re at and where we want to get to. It’s training their mentality. That if you play well it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to play the next game anymore.

“Everyone’s got a massive, massive part to play for the rest of the season.”

One change was Shaun Williams being switched out for Ryan Tunnicliffe to start.

Harris said: “Williams played two 90 minutes this week already. I’ve got different players with different attributes.

“Tunnicliffe is an athlete, one of the quickest players in the squad, and I knew the game was going to be a counter-attacking game. Cardiff have scored a lot of goals on the counter-attack.

“I knew we’d need legs in the side. I made eight changes to the starting 11 tonight because I wanted freshness.”