Here's everything Sunderland's head coach had to say about Millwall, Neil Harris and coming up against Duncan Watmore and George Honeyman...
SET PIECES
“That was one of the things we spoke about as a group when I took over a few months ago. There was a number of areas we needed to focus on, set-pieces. I feel our defensive set-up from set-pieces has been really good and that’s going to have to be the case on Saturday because they are such a threat from set-pieces. We scored from a set-piece on Saturday."
HARD TO BEAT
“I wanted us to be harder to play against and it’s probably taken us a little bit longer than I would've liked. We only conceded one goal against Leicester and one goal against Norwich. There were signs we were getting better out of possession. I would have liked to have seen the group score more goals but I think having some of the attacking options unavailable for the first part of when I took over, it was always going to be difficult.”
MILLWALL GAFFER
“I have a lot of admiration for the job he’s done in a short period of time. Obviously they wanted to go in a different direction. They went from Gary to Joe. I don’t know Joe but Joe has a similar background to myself and it didn’t quite work out for him. I genuinely feel you have good fits and bad fits whether it be coaches or managers at certain football clubs, and I think Millwall will probably highlight that in going from someone who is well respected in the game in terms of a coach in Joe Edwards, then appointing Neil after Joe, who would be very different in terms of how they approach the game."
TOUGH GAME AHEAD
“Neil has done extremely well in terms of getting the absolute maximum of what he’s got at his disposal. Really well organised, 4-4-2. They are a real threat on transitions. A lot of the goals since Neil has come in have been via transitions. As always they are a threat from set-pieces. Results have picked up for them and it’s going to be a really difficult game.”
WATMORE/HONEYMAN
“I did think when you play against a former team, you can find an extra five per cent because you want to do well. Both players I think suit Millwall, in terms of they are really industrious and will leave everything on the pitch. Whatever team they do pick, they will be really hard to play against and embody all the principles I’m sure the head coach wants to imprint on the team.”
