NEIL Harris said Ryan Leonard showed his “class” against Leeds United on Saturday – but revealed he is not yet match fit.
Leonard made his debut after his club-record switch from Sheffield United and was involved in Jed Wallace’s goal in the 1-1 draw when Jake Cooper flicked on his long throw-in.
Harris was pleased with the midfielder’s performance.
“I think you can see that Ryan Leonard is not match fit because of a lack of minutes this year, but I think we saw enough today to show his class, quality and what he will bring to our team,” Harris said. “I think he got better as the game went on. He understands how we play already which is important. New players coming in, they are going to learn all the time.
“Anybody who watches us regularly or is in our dressing room, it is not an easy team to come into and go straight into. We have real structure and organisation and that’s what set us in good stead for last year. That’s why we finished eighth last year, because we are very hard to play against, very organised and everybody has specific roles in the team.
“It’s not about the best players in every game we go into, but the majority of time we have the best team ethos. I thought that was missing in the three games leading up to the international break, but it was back [Saturday].
“Ryan Leonard, Tom Bradshaw, Jiri Skalak, Murray Wallace, Ben Amos, Jem Karacan given time, will show real importance to the team.”
Image: Millwall FC