Millwall head coach Harris on “brilliant” Championship finish as his side win 1-0 at Swansea

Neil Harris toasted a “brilliant” finish to the season after Millwall beat Swansea City 1-0 to record a fifth consecutive league victory.

Matija Sarkic saved a Matt Grimes’ penalty in the second-half shortly before Casper De Norre bagged his first Millwall goal after ghosting into the penalty area.

Japhet Tanganga was sent off late on following a flare-up with Jerry Yates but the Lions held on to finish the season with a flourish.

Millwall appeared to be in serious jeopardy of dropping out of the Championship prior to Harris’ return in February, but the Lions head coach has won eight of his 13 matches at the helm.

Reacting after the Swansea victory, Harris said: “What a brilliant finish for the football club, to win five games in a row. A brilliant moment for players and fans to share at the final whistle. It was a great send-off.

“On the pitch, we were really comfortable. Swansea had all the possession and were dominating the ball exactly where we talked about them [having it], in front of us and around us. Whenever they got around us they then had to put the ball in the box and we gobbled [it] up.

“I think until the penalty, they’ve not really had a shot on our goal, whereas we had a couple of really good opportunities I felt we should have scored. But then once Matty saves the penalty, we just went on the next 10-15 [minutes] and really controlled proceedings. I’m delighted for Casper De Norre.”

Reflecting on a remarkable job, Harris, who signed an 18-month contract after succeeding Joe Edwards, praised the phenomenal support given to him and his players before looking to the future.

He continued: “We’ve done it as a united football club. That’s the big thing for me. I’m delighted for the fans. The home fans, I think four of the six games have been sold out and they’ve seen their team perform at The Den.

“And then the ones that have travelled, they tend to be big on the road because they know what they’re going to see.

“I’m just so pleased to have played a small part to enable everyone to come together and show what’s achievable at this football club. What’s been achievable over the last nine years and what is achievable again is we talk about wanting to be a top half football club in the Championship.

“We’ve shown we can compete and we can do that. But we can’t stand still. We have to add the right calibre of player over the summer and then I can really build on the culture and environment that I’ve started to build.”