Defender had “fallen out of love” with football until his Millwall switch
Mahlon Romeo is pleased to see Neil Harris back in football – and the Millwall right-back says his former boss helped him love the game again.
The Lions signed the right-back, 24, after he was released by Gillingham in the summer of 2015.
Romeo came in on trial for a couple of weeks and impressed in reserve matches.
He has made 152 first-team appearances for Millwall and is one of the shrewdest acquisitions that Harris made during his tenure as manager in SE16.
“Being at Gillingham made me fall out of love with football,” said Romeo. “The way they ran things as a club, I really didn’t enjoy it.
“Coming here into a much more professional environment definitely made me enjoy things more.
“Chopper was a big part of that. He was the one who gave me the opportunity, who worked with me on parts of my game and helped me learn.
“I’m not surprised he has quickly gone into a really good job. If you look at his record here, he did really well. He has a really good record and he’s still young.
“It was sad to see him go but this is how football works, it’s just part of the game.
“It’s been great with the new manager [Gary Rowett]. We’re doing things differently, on and off the pitch. It’s refreshing.”
Romeo has made 51 tackles this season – putting him eighth in a Championship table.
But the defender, linked with Premier League clubs in the past, is not sitting back and admiring statistics.
He said: “There’s more to come from me, consistency wise. Being under the new gaffer, he can help me refine my playing style in terms of my performance throughout the whole game, home and away.”
Millwall were able to bask in a derby victory over Charlton before the international break.
Romeo was unlucky with the Addicks’ goal in the 2-1 victory – Jonathan Leko’s shot deflecting off him and past Bartosz Bialkowski.
“It felt like there were about 50 people in the box,” he said. “I tried to block it and it went in. It happens as a defender, doesn’t it?
“It was a massive win. We had lost the game before [at Reading] and all you can do is try and win the game afterwards. We did that well.”
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