ALEX Neil attributed Millwall’s string of half-time turnarounds to a lack of egos in his squad, calling them “probably the best group I’ve ever had”.
The Lions were yet again much improved after the interval away at Middlesbrough, overturning a 1-0 deficit to leave with a 2-1 win that saw them leap Boro into second.
The game followed the same pattern as against Ipswich Town, Blackburn Rovers and Hull City, a slow start, then a distinct improvement after the restart.
Neil was asked how he consistently gets a response from his players.
“I’m just honest with them,” Neil said. “This is probably the best group I’ve ever had, in the fact that there are no egos. There’s nobody thinking, ‘Oh don’t say something to me that I don’t like.’ I can be really honest with them, and they’re really honest with each other.
“So we knew at half-time that we’d underperformed. We knew we were second best. We knew that they were better, and we also knew that we probably weren’t going to go out and start popping the ball around them and beat them in that sense.
“But what we could do is have a bit more composure, be a bit snappier in duels, win more headers and win more balls in general, and use the ball a bit better and allow ourselves to get up the pitch. I thought we did all of that.
“This is a real, real tough place to come. They’re a really good side. They’re really well-coached.
“But that sort of summed up our season. We don’t ever give in. We don’t ever sort of stop. We’ll keep going, and I’ve got complete faith and trust in the lads in terms of if we come up short, it’ll be just because we haven’t got enough quality on the day. It won’t ever be because of effort or determination or any of that.
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“As a manager, that’s all you can ever ask from your players, and they give me that every single day.”
