Opposition at The Den for the first time – Steve Morison on heading back to Millwall as Cardiff City boss

Millwall legend Steve Morison will get his first taste of being part of an opposition side at The Den tomorrow – and is hopeful of getting a positive welcome from home fans.

The 38-year-old twice won promotion to the Championship with the Lions and is third in their all-time scoring charts.

But Morison will bring his in-form Cardiff City side to SE16 looking for all three points to boost their survival prospects.

“I’ve never been back as opposition before,” he exclusively told the South London Press. “I was due to come back with Leeds, we had Millwall on the first day of the new season, but in our last friendly I did my calf.

“I ended up not being fit for the game. I came back and watched it, but because I wasn’t playing it was a different vibe.

“This is the first time that I’m a fully-fledged opponent and I’m there to win the game – it will be different. I like to think I’ll get a good reception when I first turn up, unless they [the supporters] want to make a bigger deal out of it and try and go the other way.

“I understand, I was the king of playing the pantomime villain – so it is what it is. They want to win and we want to win.

“The fans will want me to lose and it will hopefully be a good atmosphere. I know that the Cardiff fans will turn up in their numbers as well. I want it to be a good day, from my point of view, for the right reasons.

“When I first got the job it was on an interim basis, so looking at when this match was due to take place was a million miles from my thought process. Before now you are focusing on the games coming up, but now it’s on the doorstep.”

Morison scored the winning goal at Wembley against Bradford City – his 19th of the campaign – to take Millwall back into the Championship in 2017 after a two-year absence.

Lions centre-back Jake Cooper has emphasised how vital a component the former Wales international was in Neil Harris’ team.

“He knew when to be serious and when to switch it and be the fun and jokey Moro,” said Cooper. “If he said anything you listened. He spoke with real power and it had a big impact.

“It’s no surprise he is a manager now. He’s so strong minded. I learned a lot from his mental ability on and off the pitch.

“If anyone was going to win the [play-off final] game for us, it was him. It was a great finish. He stepped up when it mattered – and definitely did that on that day.”