Big Millwall FC change could affect £2m Lions star | OneFootball

Frozen out at The Den, a new manager could breathe new life into Kevin Nisbet's Millwall career

It's all change at Millwall at the moment, as they prepare for life after Neil Harris, who stepped down following their weekend defeat against Middlesbrough.

With no new manager yet in place, whoever inherits Harris' old job will be tasked with building on the Lions' mid-table position, something which a few weeks ago, no one expected they'd have held.

Having come through a week in which they beat automatic promotion chasing Leeds and Burnley, many tipped Millwall to be a sure-fire bet to be in the play-offs come the end of the season, but things have fallen apart since.

Since beating Leeds in early November, the South Bermondsey outfit have taken just six points and have subsequently lost ground in the top-six race, although that alone is unlikely to be the sole reason of Harris' departure.

While a lot of Millwall fans were sad to Harris leave, there will be some players who were probably glad to see the back of him, particularly after he ruffled some feathers at the end of last season.

Kevin Nisbet will be paying close attention to Millwall's next managerial move

One of the players who Harris called out at the end of last season was Kevin Nisbet, and naturally, with Harris still in charge at the start of 2024-25, the striker left The Den to take up a new challenge and returned to Scotland with Aberdeen, where he was likely to be more in favour.

But now Harris has departed Millwall, and Nisbet is only on loan at Pittodrie, he'll be keeping a close eye on who the club choose to be their next manager, knowing that when he returns in the summer he could well be handed a lifeline.

It wouldn't be unusual to see a player frozen out under an old manager brought in from the cold under a new one, so when he returns to the club, Nisbet could finally get the chance to live up to the hype he brought with him when he signed from Hibernian for £2 million in June 2023.

A loan spell north of the border where he can find his feet again could prove to be the perfect solution for Nisbet, but after previous manager Harris cited that the striker had some disciplinary issues towards the end of last season, whoever Millwall's new boss is could have his work cut out to get the best out of the Scotsman.

Millwall are crying out for an out-and-out striker like Kevin Nisbet

Scoring goals has been a long-standing issue for Millwall, who have largely been known as a team who've placed an emphasis on keeping the ball out their own net before trying to put it in their opponents'.

That's an issue highlighted by three successive 1-0 defeats, while you'd have to go back to September for the last time Millwall scored more than once in a game, which shows just how reliant they are on their defensive unit.

Irrespective of what Millwall fans or Harris may have thought of Nisbet, the fact remains that he's a proven goalscorer, he just hasn't found the right formula yet at The Den.

A striker of his calibre really could help them at the moment, as scoring goals is evidently a huge concern, but they'll have to wait until next season to get the chance to see it.

Strikers are not exactly in short supply in South Bermondsey, with Macaulay Langstaff, Mihailo Ivanovic, loanee Josh Coburn and Tom Bradshaw all options for Harris' successor, but the landscape may have changed by next summer.

If Millwall get this next managerial appointment right, then getting the best out of Nisbet could be an inadvertent boost.