Neil Harris: Millwall could have been cruising as they went into FA Cup quarter-final draw

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Neil Harris savoured Millwall reaching the last eight of the FA Cup – but the focus never slips about Championship survival.

The Lions travel to Derby County on Wednesday night off the back of a 1-0 win at AFC Wimbledon which has taken them into the quarter-finals of the cup.

And it wasn’t long before Harris mentioned the Pride Park assignment in his post-match appraisal of the victory over the Dons. The draw for the next round takes place tomorrow evening.

The Lions chief said: “I love winning games of football. 

“We have not won enough in the league.

“We have given too many points away in the league, by giving up winning positions late in games, if we hadn’t conceded so many late goals we would be cruising in the league, looking towards the top 10 rather than the bottom six – and we would be going into the FAC quarter-finals riding the crest of a wave like we did last year, and the year before, and the year before that. 

“We have found it tougher this year, there is no doubt the Championship is better this year, 100 per cent better than last year.”

Harris has seen his Millwall side reach the last eight of the FA Cup twice in the past three seasons.

“I’ve always been honest enough to say I love the competition,” he said. “I grew up watching it. I saw Wimbledon beat Liverpool at Wembley, I went with my father to watch the game, he was a Wimbledon fan, so I really enjoyed that. 

“I loved it as a player, and a manager. It brings out the best in us. This competition is built on clubs like Millwall, Wimbledon and Newport, and of causing the upsets – Doncaster, that’s what it’s all about. I’m a passionate, English football fan, travelled around the world to watch England play, so I understand and get the competition, and I understand the value, its importance to the supporters, and certainly the importance financially to my owner.

“We have been the underdog and the favourite today. I would like to be in the quarter-final at the Den.

“The last time we went to Spurs and it was a different afternoon, a great learning curve for all of us, because their mentality and professionalism on the day was unbelievable. So I would like to be at home, that’s important. Unfinished business [after that 6-0 loss at White Hart Lane]? Possibly, but my attention now quickly turns to Derby on Wednesday night.”

Harris is adamant that Millwall won’t lose sight of the league, even with a Wembley semi-final potentially just 90 minutes away.

“We don’t lose that focus in the changing room,” he said. “You try and pick the players that can adapt from one day to the next, it’s trying to keep the fanbase settled – the league is important. 

“I think we know how hard it is to stay in the Championship. We know how hard the fight is we are having at the moment. But that is six wins and three draws and two defeats in 11 games. So we know we have got momentum, and results like today just carry that into Wednesday.”