Millwall boss: We were poor at Brentford – I’m looking for a big improvement in reverse fixture

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Millwall manager Neil Harris is ready for tomorrow’s derby with Brentford – and admits his side did not acquit themselves well enough in the reverse fixture at Griffin Park.

The Bees won 2-0 in west London earlier in the campaign.

“It was a poor day for us,” said Harris. “It is not often that I’ll say my players weren’t good enough on the day, but that was certainly the case in the first half.

“In the last half an hour we really stepped up and should’ve got back in the game. Brentford were better than us for an hour and that is still in my mind going into this game.”

Brentford’s prospects have been dented by the fact their playmaker Said Benrahma is out for the rest of the season, picking up an injury in their defeat at Reading last time out.

Harris said: “Trying to stop the opposition’s strengths is a huge part of the game.

“If one of their best performers is unavailable then it has to be a bonus for us. However, they do have a lot of good players who can step in and take peoples’ positions.

“We’ve been so good lately. We have to stop their style of play and impose ourselves, use our strengths.

“Brentford are happy to go sideways and backwards before they go forwards. We’ll have to be patient and the fans will have to be patient. We need to make sure at the right times we win the 50-50 challenges. We need to get it forward at the right times.

“Brentford score a lot of goals but also concede goals as well. We have to make sure we defend well as a unit and individually.”