STEVE Morison has admitted he was “upset” and “angry” after he was denied the opportunity to lead Millwall out at Wembley in May’s League One play-off final.
Morison was set to skipper the side against Barnsley, but an injury to Byron Webster in the warm-up meant the armband reverted to club captain Tony Craig.
Striker Morison had captained the Lions for 37 games after Craig suffered a knee injury at the end of October. Much of the pre-match build-up had focussed on Morison’s career journey from the non-league to what it would mean to wear the armband at Wembley.
Instead, Craig was given that honour as he started a senior competitive game for the first time in seven months.
It was a frustrating afternoon for an injury-hit Millwall as Barnsley claimed their place in the Championship with a 3-1 win, and Morison, speaking exclusively to NewsAtDen, revealed the emotions he felt in the dressing room before the game.
“It was a tough one,” Morison said. “I’d done all the formalities before the game and obviously I expected to walk out (as captain). When I didn’t it hurt me but it was a decision the manager made and you have to respect that.
“It wasn’t the best five minutes of my career but it’s done and dusted now and we move on.
“As soon as people start looking into it they find things that aren’t there. Don’t get me wrong, I was frustrated, I was hurt, I was upset, I was angry, but I thought I had a pretty good game on the day and it didn’t affect my performance.
“I always play angry, it’s just people don’t really notice it. I always got told off when I played nice.”
Morison, however, had no complaints about the result.
“It was just one of those things, a few things went against us on the day, we never really turned up.”
Image source ©Millwall FC