NEIL Harris said he had a “hard-hitting” message for his players after their loss to Huddersfield Town.
The late defeat at the John Smith Stadium last Saturday saw Millwall defeated in back-to-back games for the first time since Harris’ return.
With their Championship survival prospects looking bleak again, the Lions then summoned a huge performance to beat league leaders Leicester City 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Speaking after the win game, Harris said: “For me we just need to amass points to stay in the division. You don’t want to lose last minute at Rotherham or Huddersfield and ultimately we battered Rotherham and should have been out of sight after 70 minutes. And with Huddersfield there was nothing in the game, it should have been a draw.
“14 points from nine games is testament to the players. I can’t be picky and choosy. I have to accept when the points come and when we don’t pick them up, it’s my job to galvanise the football club and the fanbase to keep them going.
“I had my say in the changing room after Saturday and that stays in the changing room and it was very hard-hitting for the group. First time they’ve seen me like that.
“But now it’s gone. It’s done. We came in on Monday morning and we moved on to Leicester really quickly. I said to the group [after the win] ‘well done, but it’s gone. Don’t dwell on it, take the pat on the back, but it’s now about Cardiff.'”
The Millwall boss could also not resist a grin when asked how exactly the Lions went from losing to bottom side Rotherham to beating the team top of the Championship across eight days.
Harris added: “What I will say in defence of the group is that it’s not just this group. That’s been the last 30 years of Millwall Football Club. And fans older than me will probably say before that as well.
“You don’t want to lose to teams around the bottom but it has been a common theme over years at the football club. Why? I don’t know. To be successful you have to eradicate that.”