Harris bemoans Millwall’s leaky defence

(Picture: Action Images)

Millwall manager Neil Harris is full of praise for his attackers, but is desperate to improve his faltering defence.

After the Lions lost 3-2 at home to Rochdale on Saturday, they dropped down to 14th in League One and now have the second worst defence in the division.

At the other end of the pitch, things are looking better, with Harris’ men having scored in every game so far, but the defence is a cause of much concern in South London, and something that will have to be sorted soon if a promotion push is wanted.

Harris told London News Online: “We’ve conceded too many goals, far too many goals. We have scored in every game this season we’ve played.

“There were large parts of the first hour against Rochdale I was really pleased with, other than conceding the goal. We were so dominant, we should have been out of sight – no question – before they equalised.

“I can’t knock the attacking players because they have scored a lot of goals. We gave a poor free-kick for the second goal and then don’t defend it well.

“After that it is fine margins. Fred is a quarter of a yard offside and then we have conceded the penalty. We’ve got to start getting those fine margins right and coming out of it the other side. For long periods before this we had done that.”

The beauty of the Football League is that, especially at this stage of the season, the fixtures keep coming thick and fast, and tonight’s match at Port Vale will give the Lions an ideal chance to bounce back – and find the form Harris is searching for.

He said: “We’ve not won as many and I’d have liked to and have conceded too many. I talk about form and consistency being really key and there are a couple of players who are not quite at the top of their game at the minute.”