ALEX Neil explained why he opted for an unchanged side in Millwall’s 2-0 win over Preston North End.
The Lions were brilliant in the mid-week against Birmingham City, and Neil picked the same starting eleven four days later at Deepdale.
Millwall were dominant across the match, taking home a deserved three points courtesy of Ryan Leonard and substitute Luke Cundle’s strikes.
Neil elaborated on his thinking after the match.
“A couple of things,” Neil said. “The pitch certainly played into it. I think the physicality of the game played into it. We had the majority of physical players on the pitch in terms of can sort of deal with that and run.
Then, as the game wore on, we had guys like Barry Bannan and that on the bench. But I just thought the way the game was going, it was better suited to Derek [Mazou-Sacko]. It was better suited to Luke [Cundle]. They did great when they come on, so I was really pleased with that.
Caleb Taylor, who had started the previous eighteen of the previous nineteen league games, missed the win over Birmingham with a foot issue and was again absent from the match-day squad.
“If he’s not fully ready, we’re not going to risk him, particularly when we’re in decent form as it is,” Neil said.
“If we felt we needed to risk him, then that maybe would be a conversation. But at this moment, I don’t think it’s a necessity just now.”