Lenny the Lion has a midfield fight on his hands

BY DAN MARSH
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

It’s been all change in the middle of the park for Millwall this summer, but that’s not a concern for Ryan Leonard.

The Lions bid farewell to club stalwart Shaun Williams in the summer, whilst boss Gary Rowett also chose not to pursue a third deal for former loanee Ryan Woods.

Rowett has completed three deals to bolster his engine room since the New Year, with the January signings of Maikel Kieftenbeld and George Evans followed up by the shrewd move to bring George Saville back to the Den last month.

Add that trio to Leonard, Ben Thompson and Billy Mitchell and it’s clear to see where the most intriguing battle for places is going to be this season.

For all-action ace Leonard, the scrap for a starting slot isn’t one that he’s going to shirk.

“There’s been a lot of movement in midfield,” the 29-year-old said.

“We’ve brought in some really good players, so in the long run that’s going to help all of us. I’ve said before that competition is something that you need all over the squad.

“You come back in pre-season and think ‘right, there are six or seven players that can play in my position’ and every one of us wants to be in the team and do well. It pushes you.

“I think it’s [competition] always in the back of your mind.”

Leonard missed the final third of the season after picking up an ankle ligament injury back in February’s
4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

He admits his first focus this summer was getting fit before eyeing a return to the starting line-up.

The midfielder was one of the Lions’ top performers last term before his campaign was prematurely halted.

“I thought last year was probably some of the best football I’ve played in a Millwall shirt,” he said. “It was nice to consistently churn out good performances and do well.

“That was more the kind of player I am. I felt a lot more comfortable, so I want to compete with lads and get back into the team and replicate that.

“It’s [midfield] going to be a much stronger area this year with so many of us, so hopefully, that can only be a good thing for the gaffer and can help us pick up results.”

The departure of Saville to Middlesbrough back in 2018 led to Leonard’s arrival in SE16.

The midfielder was prised away from Sheffield United for a club-record fee as a replacement for Saville, who had netted 10 goals in the season before his big money departure to Teeside.

The two moves were even confirmed within minutes of each other on the same day.

In a weird twist of fate, the duo will now play together following Saville’s return to The Den last month.

“On his first day it was quite funny to be fair,” laughed Leonard.

“It was a case of ‘Crikey, you’re the person that moved and I’m the person that came in to replace you’!

“He was literally just going out the door as I came in, so it was a strange one to see him come back.

“He’s going to be a great signing for us. The gaffer and the club have done really well to get him back through the door.

“You can see the quality he’s got straight away.

“He knows quite a few of the lads as well so it’s not like he’s starting fresh, which helps. It’ll be nice to line up alongside him.”

Saville was Millwall’s fifth capture of the summer, with Scott Malone, George Long, Dan Ballard and Benik Afobe all signing on for the season prior to Saville’s return.

“The club have not done a lot of stuff, but we’ve concentrated on bringing in real quality to the squad,” said Leonard.

“We’ve done some really good business.

“They’ve fitted in well – it’s not a hard dressing room to come into, but it’s nice to see them come straight in and do well.

“I think they’re all going to make a real difference for us this year.

“The squad that the gaffer’s built this summer [is the strongest it’s been]. It’s been building up for a couple of years now.

“We were in training playing a 11v11 and we looked around and thought ‘both these teams could quite easily play at any stage’. I don’t think we’ve had that before in my time here.”

The Lions have fallen short in the play-off race in the last two years, with goalscoring their Achilles heel.

Leonard said: “The last two years it’s been a case of not scoring enough goals, but that doesn’t just come from the attacking players, it’s all over the pitch – whether that’s us in midfield creating goals for people or defenders chipping in with the odd goal.

“We all know that’s what we need to improve on this year, to help push us on further.

“We’re all pushing in the same direction – the last two years we’ve been close but just not quite got over the line.

“We need to keep our defensive record of the last two years and create more goals. It’s not like we don’t work on it every day in training. We are known for being direct and aggressive. That isn’t going to change.

“But the gaffer is trying to slowly but surely change parts of the way we play. We need to evolve because we don’t want to become too predictable as a team.

“We need to keep what we’ve had beforehand, but if we can evolve and improve on little bits then that can be good going forward for us.

“We’re all trying to be better. Even if it’s just one or two per cent better from everyone that can really make the difference for us this year.”