David Livermore on Millwall return with ‘leader’ Neil Harris – and why pair work so successfully together

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

When Millwall opted to make a managerial change last month, Neil Harris was not the only individual with a deep connection to the South London club making a return.

David Livermore played in the same Lions team as Chopper and clocked up 314 appearances between 1999 and 2006.

The 43-year-old has worked as Harris’ assistant at all the clubs he has been boss of apart from Cambridge United earlier this season, where Millwall’s all-time record goalscorer initially promised to review the existing coaching staff.

Harris has been able to seamlessly reconnect with the Lions. Livermore was also part of Mark McGhee’s squad which won the old Second Division title in 2001 and lost in the 2004 FA Cup final to Manchester United.

Livermore followed Harris out the Den exit door when he resigned as boss in October 2019. So there was more than one homecoming when Millwall fired Joe Edwards and filled their head coach role with a familiar face.

“The first few days were a little bit surreal but you come in and know about 70 per cent of the staff – so it was pretty seamless,” Livermore told the South London Press. “I feel very fortunate and really pleased to be back and I’m well up for the challenge, that’s the most important part of it.

“I was always hopeful there would be a route into Cambridge for myself (when Harris was in charge there earlier this season). Neil being the man he is, he promised Cambridge he would assess the staff they had there. He certainly was going to follow through with that.

“I understood the situation. I was a bit disappointed for obvious reasons. But that was the circumstances that Neil needed to work on.

“In the interim I watched a lot of football. It was an opportunity to learn – talking to people, doing a few training ground visits and stuff like that – trying to gain as much knowledge as you can.

“I watched a lot of Premier League 2 football because I wasn’t familiar with the players at those teams, particularly the ones around north London, where I live. I got to see quite a few youngsters and what was coming through – seeing what the trends in style of football is like.

“I went anywhere I felt I could learn and progress myself. I was probably going to four games a week, if I’m honest with you – Tuesdays, Friday night, a couple on Saturday. I might watch U18s or U21s in the morning and then go on and watch Leyton Orient, Northampton or whatever.

“It is an opportunity to learn about players because sometimes when you’re in the job – we have a fantastic recruitment department and they will do a lot of the legwork. So when you are tasked with looking after the team and supporting the manager you are kind of very focused on that. You lose track a little bit of who is who outside of your division. So I knew a lot about League Two but probably less about the Championship, League One or Premier League 2.”

Harris has managed in all four top divisions in England bar the top-flight this season. He started off at Gillingham before his stay at Cambridge United was cut short by Millwall’s interest.

Asked about the jump in quality between England’s second and third tier, Livermore said: “Southampton away – the thing that was really noticeable was the speed of the game and how long the ball was in play. No disrespect to League Two but it can be quite a stop-start game.

“It was something that caught me a little off guard but also the fact I’ve not been in a dugout for five months, so you almost have to re-train yourself a little bit.

“In League Two and League One you have still got some really, really technical players but they wouldn’t physically be able to cope in the Championship. One thing I’ve certainly noticed since being back here is that you have technical and intelligent players who are middle-distance runners and sprinters at the same time. That is kind of where the game has got to.

“You have got very good one-v-one players, very athletic and very quick – able to repeated sprint, able to press, able to recover to shape and able to counter-attack. It’s definitely a jump from the last time we were here.”

The task right now is to secure Championship football for an eighth straight season.

When Harris last took charge, in  2015, Millwall were already eight points adrift of safety. It became about rebuilding in League One before gaining promotion in 2019.

Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Blackburn means the Lions have taken seven points since bringing Harris back. They are two points above the bottom three with 30 still up for grabs.

“If I was to describe Neil in one word it would be easy – leader,” said Livermore. “He manages people really, really well.

“He has almost fallen into this niche, if you look at his last four jobs – to take over a football club that is at the wrong end of the table and maybe underperforming.

“He has to try to put it back together again and it’s something that Neil is very, very good at.

“We did that the first time around at Millwall when we dropped into League One and we brought them back up.

“We nearly reached the play-offs and finished eighth with 72 points – it’s still the most points the club has had since being back in the Championship since 2002, when we finished fourth as players. That was an achievement in itself.

“Then went to Cardiff and took them from 15th to fifth and unfortunately lost to the eventual play-off winners, Fulham.

“He took some time out but then went to Gillingham and nearly kept them in League One, which was pretty much an impossible job when they were 10 points adrift – they went down on the last day of the season on goal difference.

“It was a rebuilding job there, because the budget was poor. It took a new owner to come in to throw some money at it. In 2023 we had the second most points in League Two, only Stockport took more.

“Neil then went to Cambridge and was doing the same thing there – a club that was at the wrong end of the table and needed a safe pair of hands that was going to get the best out of the staff and players they had got at that time. He moved them away from the relegation zone.

“He is a leader of people and he does that unbelievably well.”

Harris talked at the weekend about the pressure of relegation being solely on his shoulders, despite the fact he will only take charge of 13 of their 46 league matches this campaign.

Pressure and fear is something that can paralyse players. So it looks a smart tactic to try and take away some of the intensity of a survival battle

“It is the one thing that can stop you from performing,” said Livermore. “I was there when we signed the contracts and Neil said:

‘Guys, it’s not your problem any more – it’s my problem’.

“Straight away the pressure is off everyone else – players and staff. That is Neil in a nutshell. He will deal with. It is what you need.

“Confidence in football is very easy to lose but very difficult to get back. One of the things you have to do is raise their confidence level – the first thing to do is take that pressure off other people. Neil has done it from the very first second he has been back.”

So is leadership something that is gained from experience of facing adversity or just within certain individuals?

“I think it is within everyone but it is also a personality trait,” said Livermore. “You can have silent leaders, ones that lead by example and also vocal leaders.

“We’ve got players who lead by example – they are the first in, the last out, live the life, love the game and do everything properly.

“It is about how you unlock that leadership element in everyone and where you fit into the puzzle.

“Neil is a vocal leader and I think you need that charisma. You look at Jurgen Klopp and he has got that X-Factor – he is fantastic with people. He knows how to empower people and let them get on with their work.

“Neil has got that and really grown into that role. He is very hands-on but he is very hands-off, if that makes sense. He lets people do their work.

“He knows what his strengths and weaknesses are, that is the sign of a very intelligent person.”

Livermore and Harris’s longevity as a partnership shows they also have a chemistry.

“I think we bring different qualities and they complement each other,” said Livermore.

“Neil is very happy for me to get on with what my strengths are which is on the grass – organising the training and staff around the training.

“It frees him up to have that coffee with a player or have that sitdown with a member of staff. Neil is very present all the time and very observant – he loves to watch training – but he really comes alive the 48 hours before a game. Neil will be very vocal and very involved on a Thursday or Friday.

“We’re lucky to also have Adam Barrett. I’m happy to use that word again – leader. Hecaptained every club he played for. He is a really good coach and really diligent. He’s similar to Neil in many ways.

“It’s a blend that works. I think there is a lot of loyalty and history there, we know each other’s families and what not.

“There are different skillsets. I’m quite reserved, observant and stand-back type of person – Neil very much gets himself in there and gets dirty, doesn’t he? That’s probably why it works.”