Millwall striker Steve Morison on Elland Road return – and why his big Leeds United move did not work out

Steve Morison makes his first return to Elland Road since May 2015 tomorrow – and reckons that there were factors out of his control that stopped him being a major success story at Leeds United.

The Millwall talisman moved to the Yorkshire outfit just under five years ago as part of a swap deal taking Luciano Becchio to Norwich City.

But Morison made just 30 starts for Leeds – his stay broken by a season-long loan back with the Lions in the 2013-14 campaign – before his permanent return to the South Londoners.

When asked what reception he expects to get this weekend, the straight-talking Lions striker said: “It depends what I do.

“I presume if I pass the ball off the pitch then they’ll cheer. The same thing happened at Norwich – I passed one off the pitch and they all cheered. I scored, then I was hated for a little while but there was respect for the goal. When we lost it was ‘haha, how’d you like that?’

“It is pantomime stuff really.

“When they played at The Den earlier in the season, they turned up in their thousands like they do, I got a decent reception. I’ve got no hard feelings towards the club and I hope they’ve got none towards me – even though I didn’t fulfill what I should’ve done there.

“As I think they can admit, there were a lot of factors – not just my ability.”

Morison had been a Neil Warnock signing in January 2013, but the former Crystal Palace chief was gone three months later.

Brian McDermott, David Hockaday and Darko Milanic were to follow, the latter two only lasting six games.

“I scored on my home debut against Blackpool and then scored two at Crystal Palace soon after – but then things started changing,” said Morison. “It wasn’t a great time for anybody – the fans, players or any manager who came in.

“Everyone has said the same in the press. You’ll get judged on goals and performances as a striker – if I’m getting judged on that I wasn’t good enough.

“The only thing I can take away from it is that my last six months at the club were really good, minus scoring a few more goals than I should’ve done.

“I was pleased when I went there. I thought I had a good chance to do something but then there was a new owner and new managers.

“It’s in the past, those kind of experiences make you stronger.”

A crowd in excess of 30,000 will be in attendance on Saturday but despite that backing, Leeds continue to struggle to achieve their goal of a Premier League return.

And Morison believes they struggle to match the spending of some of their Championship rivals. It is an even bigger challenge for the Lions, who have one of the lowest payrolls in the division.

“[Massimo] Cellino has left the club in a good state financially but his tenure was up and down,” said the Lions frontman. “You know the reputation he’s got for sacking people and the unrest it caused on a daily basis.

“The fanbase makes it a massive club but they have got a set of supporters thinking they are still Premier League and one of the big clubs, but the club are working much more within a budget. It’s not as easy to get to where you want to.

“Look at Wolves. They are doing very well, the manager has put a decent team together but let’s get it right – they are spending a lot of money. They are not doing it on a budget or a shoestring. When people do it that way you have to take your hat off to them.

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to going back there. You manage yourself during the week, which is normally the case, because the one thing that matters is being out there on the pitch on Saturday.

“Sometimes a match just has that little bit extra spice. We’re still searching for an away win but Leeds are in a position right now where we can hurt them.”

Morison felt United had already been crowned as champions-in-waiting by many people when the two sides met at The Den earlier this season – Aiden O’Brien securing a 1-0 win for the hosts.

“They were near the top of the table and there were a lot saying they were going to win the league,” he said. “But we’re a tough nut to crack at home. We proved that on the day.

“I know it was only 1-0 but the game was a lot more comfortable than the scoreline suggested.

“You can see the teams who have come and matched us, like Preston on Saturday, have been our toughest games at home. When teams have come looking to play their own way they tend to come unstuck.”

Millwall’s poor points return on the road has intensified the importance of maintaining excellent form at The Den as they look to secure safety.

“Last year a team [Blackburn] went down on 51 points – that was a surprise – but the year before it was 40 [Charlton],” said Morison. “The quicker we get to 50 points then we can start looking at where we might be able to get to.

“We have got 10 home games left, that’s 30 points. We should be alright.

“The away form doesn’t grate because we are winning at home and it helps we’re in a decent position.

“We’re not going to go the season without an away win – that’s a fact. I’d love it to happen on Saturday in what will probably be the biggest crowd we play in front of this season.”