Millwall boss explains why it has been wide attacking role for January transfer window signing Connolly

Millwall head coach Alex Neil has explained why Aaron Connolly is not suited to play the centre-forward role in his current system.

The 24-year-old signed from Sunderland this month and has produced bright performances in the 1-0 victories at Luton and Portsmouth.

Connolly won and missed a penalty against the Hatters on Saturday.

Last night he laid a huge chance on for Ra’ees Bangura-Williams, the youngster missing from close range, and also curled a shot narrowly past the right upright in the closing stages.

The Republic of Ireland international has played a wider role.

“He has played off the left before,” said Neil. “He played there for Hull. So they played inverted forwards and drop the nine down, so he has done that role before.

“He can play off the left. He can play as a 10 and he can play as a nine.

“The difficulty you have got right now is that if you’re playing him as a nine then you probably need to play without him a little bit – because of the fact he isn’t a targetman. So you need to work the ball up the pitch and then slide him down the sides.

“I don’t think we are there yet, hence why we need to put the ball forward and work around the striker.

“Where he is at the moment suits him because it gets him front-facing a lot – you saw the one where he cuts in and his shot whistles just past the post. He has got that quality where he can dip a shoulder and get his strike away.”