"A reminder to the thickos" - Neil Harris sends message to section of Millwall supporters after Coventry loss | OneFootball

Neil Harris spoke about the impact missing three of his best players had as Millwall were defeated by Coventry City

Millwall manager Neil Harris has slammed some sections of the club's support and pointed to the absence of three key players as his side slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Coventry City.

Harris was without the likes of Jake Cooper, Japhet Tanganga and Romain Esse for the visit of the Sky Blues, and despite dominating possession, his side fell to a defeat at The Den, giving Frank Lampard his first win as Coventry City boss.

The Lions clearly missed the presence of three quality players, and manager Harris was in no mood to downplay the importance of the trio's absence in the aftermath with a message to supporters who were unhappy with the result.

Neil Harris on the absence of Jake Cooper, Japhet Tanganga and Romain Esse

Harris believed his side lacked quality with the absence of the aforementioned trio, and had a reminder to Millwall supporters who dared to criticise the result.

Speaking to Coventry Live, Harris said: "I’m disappointed with the result, obviously. We just lacked quality, didn’t we? No problem handling the football at times. In transition we gave it away a few times too cheaply, which caused us problems. I thought first half we were the slightly better team, but no end product, no creativity.

"Second half, I thought Coventry had a good ten-minute spell around the goal and looked dangerous. I thought their subs made a real difference, some real good players coming off the bench.

“We just looked like a team that was trying really hard and just lacked the moments.

"That’s where I think people have to get their head out of clouds and realise we’ve done well to achieve what we’ve achieved so far and how tough it is for us as a group.

"Right at the end we’re putting the ball in the box and one of the young centre-forwards and young wingers are standing outside the penalty area. It just shows we’ve got a lot of learning in front of us.

"That’s just levels isn’t it. That’s levels and that’s why you rely on players to have those moments and we lacked that level today.

“You miss Romain [Esse], you miss Japhet [Tanganga] and you miss Jake Cooper. Three players that probably get in anybody’s Championship team.

"So just a reminder to people, the thickos, that when you take the three best players out of the team that this is Millwall Football Club.”

After a good start to the season which saw them break into the top six at one point, Millwall supporters may have started to dream of finishing in the play-offs and winning promotion, but Harris' comments suggest that they should temper expectations.

Of course, losing three players, like Cooper, Tanganga and Esse, is far from ideal, but the fact that Millwall missed them so much means they perhaps don't have the depth to compete when they're not available.

The result against Coventry means that Millwall are now in 11th place, and while it's frustrating for supporters to see them drop down the table, they must remember that they were in grave danger of being relegated last season before Harris returned.

In reality, a mid-table finish would be good going for Millwall this season, and perhaps supporters should temper expectations with their manager clearly aware that they'll struggle should key players miss out.

It's very unexpected though for a manager to come out at sections of the fanbase like Harris has done here though - perhaps though, given what he did as a player for the Lions in the past, he will just about get away with it and come out of the other side unscathed.