Neil Harris: My Millwall players performed at their best in last two games and we have delivered on pitch
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
Neil Harris was left contented after his Millwall side finally ended an eight-game run without a Championship win by defeating managerless Aston Villa at The Den.
Shane Ferguson and Tom Elliott were both on target as the Lions secured all three points.
“It’s a nice feeling. I’m delighted for my players, my players deserved that. They have worked tirelessly and we’ve had some horrendous luck. We’ve hit the woodwork again today. I’d like to see the stats on what team hits the crossbar or post the most – we must be right at the top of the tree for that.
“We showed character to come from behind again. We played like a Millwall team at The Den, that’s important.”
Millwall had conceded in the closing quarter of matches in SE16 – dropping a host of points that would have put them in a far more comfortable position.
But there was to be no repeat today.
“We can argue until the cows come home about why we have conceded late goals, but ultimately if you play in the opponent’s half in the last 10 minutes then they can’t score a goal.
“The boys have been great. I’ve talked about the positivity and character of the lads to play and train – it’s been first class. You wouldn’t know if we were top of the league or bottom of the league.
“We know where we are in this division and why we won’t be at the top of this league, so we make the most of it and get on with it.
“It’s a timely boost because we have got a two-week period where we can reflect on where we have gone wrong early on – who has not been playing well. It’s down to you guys to rate the players but I have to pick a team and rate my players in my own mind.
“I talked about individuals not being good enough to their own standards, well the last two games every player who has gone on the pitch has almost played to the best of their ability. It’s no surprise we’ve had two top, top performances – we should have got six points but only got four.”