Harris slams stars: some players have let me down

Millwall boss Neil Harris has laid into players who caused disruption in his squad this season after his side was beaten in their final home game of the campaign, writes Toby Porter.

The Lions manager revealed some of his players never wanted to play for the club again – and others had not been professional enough.

His words will be a shot across the bows for out-of-contract players hoping for a new deal this summer – Jordan Archer, David Martin, Tom King, Conor McLaughlin, Sid Nelson, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Tom Elliott and Steve Morison.

The manager has already said Lee Gregory is unlikely to sign a new deal with the Den outfit – and attacker Fred Onyedinma, who has played just three times for the Lions this term, was not even on Tuesday’s team sheet.

“The level of performance this season from some individuals has been nowhere near good enough,” said the manager. “There will be a lot of changes this summer. Some players have really let me down this year, have let the football club down.

“I want a group of players that show commitment to the cause, that are good in the dressing room, that are professional within the football club, have a winning mentality and want to be better and learn.

“Players this year haven’t had that, that have told me they don’t ever want to play for this club again. We have to get better players in over the summer, because if we don’t then we are getting further away from teams in the Championship and that was evident this year.

“I only want people who want to be at this club in my changing room – players who put their professionalism for the job, and love for the game before anything else.

“The level of performance from some individuals this year has been nowhere near good enough. I have to take the brunt because I always back my players but they’ve let me down at times this year individually and I won’t accept that moving forward.

“I will change it. I don’t know the number exactly because obviously there’s contract obligations. But I will be ruthless this summer. I took over at a time where relegation was inevitable.

There were too many senior players on a lot of money that didn’t care about the club. I managed to get them out. I’m not going to end up in that situation again.

“We’ve had two play-off finals, promotion, came eighth in the Championship last year with the smallest budget in the division, two FA Cup quarter finals. “I’m not going to allow that to disappear without having the opportunity to build a new team.

We need better players than we’ve got, better personalities than we’ve got. I know what players need to go and know what players need to come in, and I’ll be doing my damnedest to change it.

“Class is permanent and form is temporary but if they don’t come out of that bad form then you have to change them. “This year everyone thought we were going to come eighth again or higher!

“No chance, and we’ve got no chance next year unless we improve the squad. “Success this year, quarter final of the FA Cup and staying in the Championship – for me that’s a success with the players I’ve got and the budget we’ve got.

“What’s important to me is to finish with a strong performance and everyone finishes with my words, which are ‘we want to be better next year.’”who put their professionalism for the job, and love for the game before anything else.

“The level of performance from some individuals this year has been nowhere near good enough. “I have to take the brunt because I always back my players but they’ve let me down at times this year individually and I won’t accept that moving forward.

“I will change it. I don’t know the number exactly because obviously there’s contract obligations. But I will be ruthless this summer. “I took over at a time where relegation was inevitable.

There were too many senior players on a lot of money that didn’t care about the club. I managed to get them out. I’m not going to end up in that situation again.

“We’ve had two play-off finals, promotion, came eighth in the Championship last year with the smallest budget in the division, two FA Cup quarter finals. “I’m not going to allow that to disappear without having the opportunity to build a new team.

We need better players than we’ve got, better personalities than we’ve got. I know what players need to go and know what players need to come in, and I’ll be doing my damnedest to change it.

“Class is permanent and form is temporary but if they don’t come out of that bad form then you have to change them. “This year everyone thought we were going to come eighth again or higher!

“No chance, and we’ve got no chance next year unless we improve the squad. “Success this year, quarter final of the FA Cup and staying in the Championship – for me that’s a success with the players I’ve got and the budget we’ve got.

“What’s important to me is to finish with a strong performance and everyone finishes with my words, which are ‘we want to be better next year.’”