Trust in players pays off for Harris

Millwall boss Neil Harris revealed he had to bite his tongue and trust his players to get the job done as they squeezed past Fleetwood to keep their faint automatic promotion hopes alive.

Steve Morison broke struggling Fleetwood's resistance with the match-winning strike after 52 minutes and Jordan Archer provided late heroics in goal to leave the Lions six points off the top two.

Harris said: "We weren't at our best tonight. We've huffed and puffed, and we've had to rely on two bits of quality. One double save from our goalkeeper and one goal of the season from our talisman.

"It would have been easy for me to lose my temper at half-time with the way we played in the first half.

"In some situations you have to rely on your goalkeeper and fortunately Jordan was a very reliable young man this evening.

"Probably half the squad are injured at the moment. A lot of the players have played a lot of minutes. We've got to patch people up to get them out there.

"I think it's been a long time since Millwall have had so many young players on the pitch. They will be much stronger characters, much better footballers for tonight.

"I'm looking forward to worrying about how our small squad size will cope with the play-offs, because we'll be in them, but I'd have no problems playing those players again in pressure situations."

Fleetwood prodded and probed and went closest through Bobby Grant, whose volley bounced back off the crossbar.

Defeat leaves them two points clear of the relegation zone with three matches left to play.

And manager Steven Pressley refused to be too down on his players, instead reminding them of the importance of Saturday's meeting with relegation rival Blackpool.

He said: "The game encapsulates our season.

"We've dominated. We've had chance after chance. We've missed chances and they've cost us the game.

"It's difficult to keep saying the same things. If you look at the statistics we've dominated teams and we've done so again tonight.

"But games aren't decided statistically. They're decided by the important moments in each box and we've lost those moments tonight. Millwall scored from their one and only opportunity.

"I'm really, really disappointed. It's difficult for me to criticise the players because they've given so much, but they have to be more clinical.

"It was a brilliant performance but without the all-important win.

"While it's still in our own hands, we have to take care of business. Once that changes we're in trouble.

"That's why Saturday is such a massive game.

"After that one of the two teams will have it in their hands. We need to make sure that it's us."