Millwall manager Neil Harris has labelled his side’s 1-1 draw with struggling Sunderland as a ‘reality check’ following February’s unbeaten sequence in the Sky Bet Championship.
The Lions won four and drew one of their league matches last month leading to some fans talking up a late charge for the play-offs.
In their latest match, Millwall failed to beat bottom club Sunderland and manager Harris told The72 in the post-match press conference that the result was a bit of a wake up call for anyone dreaming of another play-off campaign.
“I think that’s a good reality check for everybody connected with our football club” The Lions boss admitted.
“We got 13 points in February and that got us to where we are in terms of the thought process of play-offs and how good a side we can be.
“Today was a reality check that if we are not at our best as Millwall, we can come unstuck against anybody.
“I thought we started the game really well, we were the better team.
“Sunderland grew into the game and scored with a really good shot but I thought that we could have done much better leading up to the corner and we could’ve dealt with the short corner better.
“Second half, I thought we were strong and there was going to only be one team who could go and win it and I thought that was going to be us.
“Our composure in and around the box wasn’t quite what it should’ve been.”
Millwall’s downfall was a poor first half performance in which they let the visitors settle into the game and Harris believes that there were things which his side could’ve done much better.
“We didn’t win enough first headers or second balls in the first half” Harris confessed. “We certainly didn’t move the ball quick enough in the first half.
“I thought we were much more on the front foot in the second half and aggressive on the ball.
“There couldn’t have been any complaints if we had won the game in the second half.
With play-off talk having built up in recent weeks, Harris believes that the club are simply happy to continue punching above their weight between now and the end of the season.
“Nobody within the training ground has been getting above themselves” the Millwall boss added.
“We are in a fantastic position, we have proved a lot of people wrong since the start of the season and the reality is that we have got to keep doing that.
“If we are not at our best, we come unstuck.
“We were playing Sunderland who are a top football club who have some top players with a lot of Premier League experience.
“We are frustrated that we have not won the game, we’ve come so far as a club that we are disappointed not to beat Sunderland at home.
“There’s new expectations for us but I’m certainly enjoying it.”
