Neil Harris praised the attitude of his team after Millwall progressed to the third round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy with a 2-0 victory over Northampton Town last night.

The League Two club held their own in the opening half without truly testing Lions’ goalkeeper Jordan Archer.

However, once the hosts took the lead after 70 minutes – Aiden O’Brien with the neat finish from a tight angle – Millwall marched on to a comfortable victory.

Five minutes later Lee Gregory tapped in from Steve Morison’s accurate cross to secure a place in the third round of the competition.

“We were a little bit scrappy at times and had to be patient,” Harris said after the win.

“At times on the ball I thought we were really, really good.

“Once we got that first goal I thought we were excellent for the last 25 minutes.

“The character and the attitude of the players was brilliant, and the work-rate phenomenal.”

The visitors were certainly not intimated by their League One opposition, and enjoyed much of the ball in the first half.

But Harris, 38, insisted this did not worry the home dressing room.

He said: “I’m not nervous when teams come to play total football in their own half to try and frustrate our crowd.

“We saw another team play possession against us today, but they never hurt us.

“As much as teams want to go sideways and backwards, it’s what you do with the ball in the final third that’s important.

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“And we could have been 3-0 up at half-time, arguably should have been.

“I thought they’re goalkeeper was outstanding to keep the score to 2-0.”

The victory represented Millwall’s third home success in four games, and Harris emphasised the importance of turning The Den into a fortress.

“I’m delighted with my players – we wanted to get through because I hate losing, I want to win every game,” he added.

“I want to win at home as well – it’s important that we keep that snowball effect here.

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“We had a bad start and we were going downhill fast, slowly we’re taking the steps to rebuild and we’re enjoying it.

“There was a little buzz coming into the game today – the boys were really looking forward to it and that’s really key.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, we’ve got a lot to improve on, but that’s three wins in four.

“A win and a clean sheet was big for us.”

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