ALEX Neil said Millwall needed the physical presence of Derek Mazou-Sacko against Queens Park Rangers and thought he was brilliant in the 2-0 win.
Mazou-Sacko, 21, was handed his first league start since November 22 after missing time with an ACL strain and bone bruising, and repaid Neil’s decision handsomely, opening the scoring in the third minute with a well-hit strike from the edge of the box.
The French Midfielder then set up Camiel Neghli’s goal thirteen minutes later with a lay-off after getting to a cleared cross first.
Mazou-Sacko continued to be an effective presence for the rest of the game, shielding the defence before being replaced by Barry Bannan in the 90th minute.
Neil explained why he handed him a start.
“It wasn’t anything to do with QPR,” Neil said. “I thought he was really good when he came on against West Brom, and I felt we missed that physical presence to win the ball back, stay in front of their back four, be tenacious, win headers, win tackles, and more importantly, Del can play. You give him the ball, he can take it, he can wriggle away from people, he can play a forward pass, he obviously can score a goal.
“I just felt with Billy missing, I’ve tried to fudge about the midfield a little bit. I played two up top in the last game. And sometimes going more aggressive is not the best course of action because although you play two up front, everybody thinks, ‘Oh, we’re going to score seven goals. We’ve got two centre forwards.’ We created more chances today than we have in quite a few games, and we had one centre forward.
“We needed that profile, in my opinion, in the game. But he’s got to then deliver, and he did. He did that and more.”
Mazou-Sacko, who joined from Rodez AF last August, has now made 20 appearances in all competitions and has been given the nickname ‘Del Boy’ by the fans and the squad, a nod to Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter from Only Fools and Horses.
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“That’s his nickname,” Neil said. “Del Boy. We’re in London, aren’t we? Can’t get any better than that for him. He’s really embraced it. I think he’s enjoyed it, and he’ll certainly enjoy today.”
