NEIL Harris accepts Fred Onyedinma’s unpredictability – after the forward manufactured and then fluffed a late chance against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.
Onyedinma came on as an 82nd-minute substitute against the Owls, his first Millwall league appearance this season.
Onyedinma robbed Liam Palmer of possession on the left wing in injury-time before sprinting into the box with support arriving. However, Onyedinma seemed unsure what to do next and stumbled over the ball as the chance went.
The 22-year-old was close to going back to Wycombe on transfer deadline day in January, but with the Lions failing to sign a forward they didn’t sanction that move.
Harris was Millwall’s under-21 coach when he brought through Onyedinma and Aiden O’Brien, so knows what the pair offer.
“When Fred’s on the pitch that’s what we want to see, that hustle, bustle, that directness,” Harris said. “I think you saw a little bit of a buzz in the place when he came on. The fans want to see that.
“With Fred and Aiden, the way they play and the way I brought them up through the younger sides, they are going to be a little bit like that, off the cuff – I’m not saying they’re going to tread on the ball like Fred did – but Aiden frustrates as well when sometimes he goes past two and has a shot or lays the ball off quickly, and sometimes he gets caught with the ball.
“That’s the way they are.
“I’m pleased for Fred to get out on the pitch. He had a successful loan spell at Wycombe and there was some debate as to whether he was going back, right up until the last minute.
“It will have done him the world of good to be involved [against Wednesday].”
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