‘We gave him a round of applause’ – Ryan Leonard on David Livermore making it ‘business as usual’ for Millwall’s players
Ryan Leonard has talked about it being “business as usual” when David Livermore stepped up after Neil Harris’ decision to quit as Millwall head coach.
The Lions are searching for Harris’ successor.
Livermore, who had been Harris’ number two, has taken caretaker charge and started with a 1-0 victory over Blackburn on Saturday.
“It was kind of business as normal for us,” said Leonard. “Livers has been with Neil the whole time. He’s always been a voice at the training ground and he’s always been a voice behind the scenes, so it was business as usual.
“We are playing for whoever is in charge but also for ourselves. The togetherness of the group is top drawer. Livers has thanked us all in there and we’ve given him a round of applause and just said thank you for everything he’s done so far, he is a massive character at this football club whether it’s as a player or an assistant manager. It was nice for him today to step up into the role and to get three points with a last-minute winner.”
Livermore said he expects to be in charge for the Boxing Day trip to Norwich as the club’s search for a new head coach continues.
“The lads are right behind Livers and Ads for as long as they have the job,” said Leonard. “We have no clue about what the situation is at the moment, we just come in to do our jobs.
“If it’s Livers next week then we will perform for him and look to build on today. We don’t have a say, we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. We have quite a solid group of core players who have been here for five, six or seven years – so we just try and build around the changing room with the young players saying we are doing this as a football club, no matter who is in charge, the biggest thing is you play for yourself and the club, our togetherness is our biggest strength.”
The Lions go into a busy period with four games in seven days, Leonard admitted that being a footballer over the Christmas period means you have to make sacrifices.
He said. “You don’t get to have a drink on Christmas which is a bit annoying. You get used to it. It’s the Christmas period – everyone likes watching football over Christmas. For us we have to prepare well and be ready for whenever we are called upon. If you can put a run together in that short period of time it can be a massive positive for everyone, less food and less drink this year for everyone but it’s one of those things, you enjoy playing while you can and go from there.”