How Neil Harris revived Cardiff City and proved doubters wrong

Since the 2019-20 season resumed in June, Neil Harris' Cardiff City have the third best record in the Championship

Neil Harris has made a career of proving people wrong.

So as his Cardiff City side come into the Championship play-offs as relative outsiders for promotion, it seems they have the right man at the helm.

Harris had to graft to make it as a player, starting in non-league and overcoming rejection on trial at Liverpool before earning a move to Millwall in the old Second Division.

Then after a prolific first few seasons at the club, his life was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2001, at just 23 years old.

Even after intensive treatment including surgery and radiotherapy, Harris was back playing within a couple of months and, despite doubts from some managers at Millwall and his various subsequent clubs, his distinguished career lasted until he was 36.

As Millwall's all-time leading goal scorer, he could retire happy - but he had a burning desire to prove himself all over again, this time as a manager.

Naturally he did so at his spiritual home, Millwall, leading them to promotion from League One and then to within touching distance of the Championship play-offs.

But when it came to taking his next job at Cardiff last November, the indifferent reaction from some fans suggested Harris would have to dispel the doubters once more.

Now, with the 43-year-old having taken his side from mid-table obscurity to a shot at Premier League promotion - starting with a play-off semi-final first leg at home to Fulham on Monday - it seems Harris has done just that.

"To change people's perception is not always easy in football, so I'm really pleased about where I am at the moment," he says.

"I came to Cardiff for a change and to take the next step. I knew I was coming to a big club in the Welsh capital, where the passion and demand of the fan base was huge.

"I knew I was coming to a club with a good squad of players and I thought there was the potential to be successful here."

Neil Harris (left) helped Millwall reach the 2004 FA Cup final, where they lost to Manchester United

How Harris revived Cardiff 'under the radar'

When Harris took the reins at Cardiff, he inherited a team who had lost their way following relegation from the Premier League the previous season.

Although the squad was similar to the one which had won automatic promotion from the Championship in 2018, by November last year the Bluebirds were 14th in the second tier, eight points above the relegation places and seven points adrift of the play-offs.

With the immensely popular Neil Warnock gone, some supporters were unimpressed that Harris was chosen as his successor.

Despite his impressive record at Millwall, Harris had departed the Den in October 2019 with the Lions five points above the relegation zone.

"Four and a half years is a hell of a long time at one club in the modern era and I think football, fans and the world move so fast now that a period like that is tough for one individual," Harris says.

"It was just time for a change."

It was an amicable parting and Harris will forever be revered at Millwall.

At Cardiff, however, fans were sceptical of their new manager, who had spent a brief loan spell with the Bluebirds in 2004.

Gradually, Harris won them over. In his 30 Championship matches, there have been 14 victories, 10 draws and only six defeats.

Harris has subtly evolved the playing style, building on the solid foundations laid by Warnock and adding a little finesse to what was a rudimentary - if once-effective - approach.

Cardiff now seem more confident in possession, able to pass their way around opponents as well being able to bulldoze through them.

"Sitting in my first press conference, I made some promises about the team Cardiff fans would see - they would be passionate, have work rate and never let the team down," Harris recalls.

"I made some comments about how I would like to see the team play and where I would like to see the team finish, ideally.

"I could be wrong, but I think we have delivered as a group on what I had hoped in the short-term and mid-term. Long-term is probably from next season onwards.

"I knew all along that the group was getting questioned, individuals during my first few months in charge were massively under scrutiny, a lot of the players when they hadn't performed very well. Some maybe slid under the radar a little bit, me included."

'Selfish - but in a good way'

Harris was - and still is - aware of the preconceived ideas some had about him, his Millwall teams and this current Cardiff side. Not that he is affected by them.

"I don't think it would have bothered him if he was a popular or unpopular choice," says former Leicester and Portsmouth striker Steve Claridge, who played alongside Harris at Millwall.

"He believes in what he's doing and he's already shown he can do the job at Millwall.

"In football, there's one person you have to satisfy and that is yourself. If you can walk away and know that you've done everything you possibly can, you can sleep at night.

"It doesn't matter what anyone else says. If you listen to other people's opinions, you probably drive yourself bonkers."

Once you have spent a little time in Harris' company, you sense he has the focus to remain unaffected by any outside noise - however aware of it he might be.

He approaches his interviews with the precision of his training sessions, carefully considering each word as if selecting players for his team.

It is the kind of innate single-mindedness he demonstrated as a player.

"Like most forwards, he was quite self-centred," Claridge recalls.

"His game was all about scoring goals, so you've got to be a bit selfish - and I mean that in a good way. You've got to be like that."

Play-off pedigree

Harris has retained that quality, and now the predatory instinct he once used in front of goal is sharpening his aim for his next target: promotion.

He has considerable play-off pedigree, having been involved in six campaigns as a player and manager, reaching four finals and twice winning promotion.

These play-offs will be his first in the Championship as manager and, having never played or coached in the Premier League, it is no wonder he rates these forthcoming matches as the most important of his career.

"Yeah, I would say so. I was fortunate to have good times as a player and was fortunate to have three top-six finishes as a manager and eighth place two years ago with Millwall," Harris says.

"I've been in cup quarter-finals as a manager, I've been fortunate enough to have some good times, but to get into the play-offs, as we stand, is right up there. A great achievement for the group.

"I just don't want to get too far ahead, because it's all hypothetical at the moment."

And there it is again, that focus. While some in Wales might be salivating at the prospect of a Wembley meeting between Cardiff and Swansea - who lead Brentford 1-0 after their first leg - Harris will not allow himself or his players to look beyond Fulham.

Harris says the Cottagers will be the favourites for their semi-finals but, then again, the man who loves nothing more than to confound the odds would not have it any other way.