Millwall injury boost as ex-Sunderland forward Duncan Watmore is praised ahead of Stadium of Light return

Former Sunderland forward Duncan Watmore returned from an injury setback during Millwall’s 3-1 win over Cardiff - scoring the Lions’ third goal after coming off the bench.

Watmore, who has made 31 Championship appearances for Millwall this season, had missed his side’s matches against Huddersfield and Leicester but was introduced at half-time during the Cardiff fixture.

The win moved Harris’ side six points clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining this campaign, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland. “The lads have done brilliant,” said Harris, who rejoined Millwall in February. “Every man and his dog wanted to tell me that these lads didn’t know how to play at The Den. So it was a big thing for me.

“I played my part in it with team selection and style of play and try and show the lads clip but really it was about educating them how to play each position in front of our fan base at home.”

The Lions boss added: “The first 15, 20 minutes I thought were excellent and we got our noses in front. And then I’m thinking we can get a second or third here. It didn’t materialise and I thought the reason it didn’t materialise is because we kept giving the ball away. We didn’t give it away for the first 15 minutes.

“Second half we were excellent, we used the ball much better. Duncan Watmore’s introduction gave us so much energy and forward runs and ability in the final third as well. We looked a lot more confident today with the ball and I thought if we scored the third goal at the start of the second half, we might have gone on and got four or five.”