Wallace praises his former boss ahead of Millwall return
MILLWALL’S star man Jed Wallace has lavished praise on Cardiff City boss Neil Harris and claimed he was “lucky to play for him” at The Den.
Wallace, who scored the last time he faced the Bluebirds in a 1-1 draw back on Boxing Day, will come up against his former manager this weekend when the Bluebirds travel to south London to face the Lions.
It will be familiar surroundings, of course, for Neil Harris, who played almost 300 games for the club, is their record goalscorer and managed there for four years, but the lack of fans will be anything but familiar at a ground which is renowned for its intimidating atmosphere.
So it will be a strange homecoming for the former Millwall boss, but make no mistake that those in attendance will be very pleased to see him.
Harris, who won promotion to the Championship with the Lions, is deemed a huge success at Millwall and Wallace believes the job he did at The Den is “ridiculously underrated”
Harris is in charge of Cardiff City and heads back to The Den for the first time since he quit in October 2019.
Wallace had two loan stays with the Lions – the first of those in 2016 between January and March before winning promotion from League One the following year. He signed a permanent deal in June 2017.
“You can just feel that genuine belief in you straight away,” he said of Harris to South London Press.
“You came into the environment that Chopper [Harris] created and you loved it. You wanted to come back. That’s why so many players who came on loan signed for Millwall.
“The man, for me, is a Millwall icon – as a player and as a manager. I was lucky to play for him.
“He is one of the most highlythought of managers. There are always going to be players who talk bad – mostly through bitterness of their own circumstance. But Neil is one who there are very few players, whether they are in or out of the team, who will have a bad word to say. We all loved and respected him. That showed over the four years – how much success we had.
“The job he did at Millwall was ridiculously under-rated, when you break it down. They had just been relegated from the Championship, then you get the euphoria of getting to the play-off final – but losing. Then you get promoted.
“I don’t know if it’s because he was only at Millwall that it went under the radar. But you see these more stylish coaches who do half the job that Chopper did and they are the best thing since sliced bread.”
But, heading into today’s match, there is no doubting that Wallace is keen on spoiling Harris’ homecoming.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Wallace added.
“I think a lot of managers fear their former players coming back to haunt them, and he might have felt like that last year.
“They’ve got a strong squad there. They’ve had a bit of a slow start, but I certainly expect them to be towards the top half of the table.”
Harris, of course, is also fully focussed on the job at hand this weekend, but you cannot underestimate, on a human level, the affinity he has with Millwall and Saturday’s clash will be a real mix of emotions for him.
He has certainly made a lasting mark on his former club and is working hard to ensure that is the case with the Bluebirds.
“I’m really looking forward to it, looking forward to seeing a lot of faces I know well, staff, players I brought in and a manager I know extremely well. I’m really looking forward to that,” Harris said.
“I’m really focussed with wanting to going there to get the points. It would give me huge pride in going back there and getting three points for Cardiff City.”