RYAN Leonard has said his main focus is on keeping Millwall in the Championship and not his ongoing contract situation.
The 31-year-old is one of a few first-team players whose future is up in the air with his Lions deal expiring this June.
Leonard has been at the club since 2018 and, despite repeated injury issues limiting his game time, is a popular figure among fans.
The versatile defender said he was at ease with the situation and wanted to stay focused on bringing home the results that would secure Millwall’s league status, which would have the knock-on effect of also allowing the club to plan more clearly for next season.
He told NewsAtDen: “The stage of the season where it is, the main thing to think about is we need to win enough games to keep the football club in the league. And if we continue to do that then my situation will be what it will be at the end of the day.
“I can’t really control that at this stage. I’ve been playing and I like to think I’ve been playing well. I’ve been happy with my performance this year and I just need to continue that on a personal note. Hopefully that will help us win games and we’ll all be where we want to be at the end of the season.
“I’ll just worry about that as and when. It’s nice to have your future secure but at the moment we want to keep the football club secure and that’s the main thing.”
Leonard has started every game under Neil Harris this season, where he has had to adapt to a different style than he experienced under former Lions boss Joe Edwards.
On the transition, Leonard said: “Every manager has their own way of wanting to play and there’s no right or wrong way to play football, it’s a game of opinions.
“The manager’s come in and we’re playing a slightly different style to what Joe was playing but it seems to be working so far and long may it continue.
“At the moment we need to get results and we’ve been hard to play against, we’ve been defensively resolute and everyone’s pulling together and it’s really showing.”
Leonard is one of a handful of players who is still at the club from Harris’ first spell in charge of Millwall between 2015 and 2019, and the midfielder has an even more unique relationship with the boss as the pair played together at Southend United in the final years of Harris’ playing career.
Leonard said: “I played with the manger when he was at Southend just before he retired. And then obviously he signed me from Sheffield United when I first came here, so I’ve known him for a few years now.
“He’s not really changed that much to be honest. Even at the end of his playing career, he was kind of like a manager [already].
“He’s the same as he’s always been. He looks after his players, he keeps them onside and he knows how to get the best out of them. I think he builds relationship with every individual, whether it’s a player or staff member, and I think that shows with how he gets the best out of every person.”
While Harris’ arrival seems to be turning Millwall’s fortunes around, other clubs are yet to find the magic formula to create a gap to the relegation zone.
One of those sides are Leonard’s boyhood club Plymouth Argyle, who sit two points beneath Millwall, three above the drop zone and have only won one of their last eight games.
Leonard said he is keeping his fingers crossed for his former side where he spent 10 years as a youth player.
He said: “It’s my home town club and it’s the team I supported as a kid. They started the season really well but they’ve had a bit of deep recently.
“With everyone picking up results and everyone winning games down the bottom of the league, it’s really dragged a lot of teams into the mix so it breeds for an exciting last nine games.
“We can only look after ourselves. If we win games, we’ll be absolutely fine.”