MILLWALL’S new signing Shaun Hutchinson revealed boss Neil Harris was the driving force in him deciding to join the club.
The centre-half will officially become a Millwall player on a two-year deal from July 1 and he told NewsAtDen the reasons behind his decision to join the Lions.
The 25-year-old explained this isn’t the first time Millwall have shown an interest in him.
And he noted that prior to signing for the club he had offers from other clubs, including some abroad, but chose the Lions thanks to Harris.
“Neil ticked all the boxes,” Hutchinson said. “He talked about how he has all his players on the same wavelength and all grafting away, working hard for each other.
“He likes everyone to be working hard and in training he wants us all to be at it, 100 per cent everyday, whether it’s a Monday or a Friday. If you aren’t at 100 per cent, he’s going to tell you that.
“It was a while ago that the club showed interest and stuck a bid in, but it wasn’t enough for Motherwell to accept and then I signed for Fulham.”
He added: “As I was coming to the end of my contract at Fulham, I knew I wasn’t going to get a new one, so we began talks then.
“Once my contract was coming to an end, my agent was speaking to a few clubs.
“There were a few different clubs and not only in this country as well – I did have offers from the MLS in America.
“We spoke to other clubs, but after I spoke to Neil I envisioned coming to Millwall and playing, doing very well in a team that is young and hungry.”
Millwall’s second summer signing will meet up with his new team mates on July 1 when the squad return for pre-season training.
And the defender spoke of the prospect of working with a tight-knit group as a reason behind signing, as well as reiterating to fans what to expect from him.
“Watching Millwall last season, they were a hard working team,” Hutchinson said. “It’s a tight group, it isn’t a massive squad – it’s a nice, tight group of lads.
“If they are all on the same page, it breeds success. That’s the sort of things Neil was saying to me that really persuaded me to sign for Millwall.
“From what Neil has said, he’s keeping the majority of the squad together. They know what it takes to be up there, so hopefully we can go again.”
The defender added: “I like to get stuck in and get physical with the strikers” said Hutchinson. “I’m quite an agile centre-back. I can cover or go and win the ball. I’m a ball winning, aggressive centre-half.
“I think that is one thing that fans love, when they see players giving their all.
“I can pretty much promise I will be giving my all every game.”
Image source ©Millwall FC