‘This is just the start for Romain Esse’ – Millwall boss has positive message as he assesses prospect’s impact

Millwall head coach Neil Harris has hailed the “professionalism” of prospect Romain Esse.

The 18-year-old South Londoner made 27 appearances for the Lions in the campaign just completed – 25 of those in the Championship.

Esse started in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Swansea City before being replaced shortly before the hour mark.

“I’ve only worked with him for eight weeks,” said Harris, speaking to the South London Press before the weekend. “He is a very young man in the U13s or U14s when I first saw him. I’ve been so impressed with him as an 18-year-old – he has had some good moments on the pitch and done really well in terms of affecting games whether that is a start or off the bench.

“But the most impressive thing has been his professionalism and his qualities as a man. He is such a good lad – so down to earth, driven and dedicated. He is a really good pro – that is testament to the people that are around him at the training ground, in terms of driving forward.

“It is important for us, as always, to have the right senior players at the club to guide our younger ones coming through.

“This is just the start for Romain. He came on for 20 minutes (against Plymouth) and impacted the game – that has to be him moving forward.

“It is a lot to ask an 18-year-old to be a regular starter but Romain’s next step into next season has got to be thinking about more starts, more appearances off the bench and keep learning the game in different positions, with or without the ball.

“He needs to be allowed time to keep developing – physically as well. Physical development is a major part for a player.

“I really look forward to working with Romain into next season.”