‘He did unbelievably’ – Millwall keeper Lukas Jensen on departure of boss Neil Harris

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Lukas Jensen has only one focus at the moment – to ensure that Millwall’s caretaker boss Dave Livermore enjoys a winning start against Blackburn Rovers at The Den tomorrow.

Former Lions midfielder Livermore, 44, has stepped up to temporarily oversee first-team affairs after head coach Neil Harris quit his post.

Goalkeeper Jensen experienced mid-season change in the previous campaign when he was on Lincoln City’s books and they brought in Michael Skubala to replace Mark Kennedy.

Asked about Harris’ departure, Jensen told the South London Press: “It was a surprise to me. I think as a team we did really well this year and if you look at Neil’s period of being at the club he did unbelievably, with all the stats and points gathered.

“He was the one who brought me to the club, with all the staff and Marshy (Andy Marshall, goalkeeping coach). But it’s one of those things in football.

“He came in and explained the situation after stepping down and I could see a few shocked faces who didn’t think this was going to happen. It came as a shock to many. I understand his point of view and why he has done it.

“We can only look forward and get behind Livers and Ads (Adam Barrett, first-team coach).

“I must admit I enjoyed playing under Neil. We did not concede many goals and our defensive record made the goalkeepers and defenders look good.

“Livers has worked under Neil for quite some time and it would be great to get a good start for him and also leading into the Christmas matches.”

The announcement that Harris was stepping down came after the 1-0 loss to Coventry City. on December 7. The club’s all-time record goalscorer stayed at the helm for two further single-goal losses to Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.

The last time that Millwall suffered four straight reverses was in February when Joe Edwards was sacked and Harris came in with the mission to keep the South Londoners up.

“If you look at the last three games we have had some big chances and could have gone ahead in all of them,” said Jensen.

“Sheffield United are top and Middlesbrough are sixth. We lost 1-0 and could’ve won both. We played some good football – but it is the first goal in the Championship that matters so much.

“We have to look at the positives and the chances we created. Hopefully in the next one we go 1-0 ahead, because we have a good defence.”

Jensen could soon have a new boss to impress – Matt Bloomfield, Alex Neil and Steven Schumacher all appear to be in the running.

“It’s always going to be different when someone comes in but I can’t look that far ahead at the moment because I don’t know who they are going to bring in,” said the Danish keeper.

“I look at the fact we have still got really good staff around the team and they know what they are doing. I’m sure they will set us up very well for the Christmas period.

“When the new manager is coming in is only something we can guess about.”

Millwall have four matches in the space of 12 days with trips to Norwich and Coventry following the Blackburn contest.

They host Oxford on New Years’ Day.

“I always say you train to play games,” said Jensen. “I don’t mind it at all. As a goalkeeper you don’t want to have really big breaks, like the international ones, where you go two weeks without playing.

“You want to play once every fourth of fifth day because that will keep you in the moment and sharp.

“Hopefully we see as many fans in the stadium as possible and it will bring me joy if we get the three points and give them an early Christmas present.”

PICTURES: ALAMY AND BRIAN TONKS