Lion King Neil roars with joy at late winner
MILLWALL’S ‘Lion King’ Neil Harris could not hide his delight at bashing the Bantams in the play-off final.
The Lions boss said: “These players deserve this. They have come back brilliantly after last year when we just couldn’t get over the line against a good Barnsley side.
“But when we needed a hero we had Steve Morison.
“In the first half Bradford were better than us but we were more like Millwall in the second half and we deserved this.
“We have had two terrific years and hopefully we can now kick on in the Championship.
“We have relied heavily on leadership out on the pitch.
“At this club you need players with a Millwall mentality, people who can perform when the pressure is on. We did that today.
“We like to be competitive and over the course of the last few weeks we’ve scored the goals that got us here.
“At key times you need warriors and in the spine of our team we have got that in abundance, plus plenty of others with similar quality.
“We’ve had two even games with Bradford this season, both ending in draws.
“We’re matched with slightly different styles and it goes to show how often games are won by the smallest of margins.”
Delighted match-winner Steve Morison said: “It’s brilliant.
“It’s great for the club and we will celebrate tonight alright!
“I played poor really but I got the winner and that’s all that matters.
“The Championship is where we want to be and now we want to have a decent crack at it next season.”
Lee Gregory, who set up Morison’s match-winner, said: “It was great to set up that goal for Steve. He deserves it.
“It makes up for all the disappointment of last year and I’m just glad I stuck around to enjoy it.”
Disappointed Bradford manager Stuart McCall insisted that his club’s long-term plans did not hinge on winning yesterday.
“No, 100 per cent not,” he said.
“The philosophy will stay the same because already for next season we have brought in five or six kids who are 18 or 19 years-old.
“The development of them is key to what the owners want to do.
“Getting to Wembley is better than we could have imagined this season but it wasn’t to be on the day.”