JOE Edwards said Romain Esse was left out of Millwall’s squad against Huddersfield simply because there were not enough places on the bench.
With only Casper De Norre out injured, the Lions had enough senior players to make up the substitutes which has often not been the case this season.
This saw homegrown star Esse left out of the 18 players available for a game for the first time this season. Given his lack of minutes off the bench recently, this sparked speculation among some concerned fans before the game.
But Edwards clarified the situation after the 1-1 draw and underlined his belief in the 18-year-old’s potential.
The Lions head coach said: “It’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve had pretty much a fully fit squad other than Casper so I had more bodies than spaces in the squad. It was an incredibly difficult decision and it was just a personnel one.
“Probably for this specific game and where we’re at at the moment and how we’re playing and how I felt this game was going to play out.
“Romain, like with a lot of young players that end up on the fringes, he’s ended up in that position where he’s probably lacking a bit of match sharpness. There’s an under-21 game on Monday that Romain’s going to play in just to get a bulk of minutes, more for that physical conditioning, with a view to absolutely jumping back in with us on Tuesday to be in contention again.
“There’s no issue with Romain. I’d point out that when I came in, Romain was actually the first sub I brought on at Hillsborough [in the 4-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday in Edwards’ first game in charge]. He was a player I knew about before I came in and that was a sign of intent from me at Hillsborough. Bringing him on first, I wanted to see him play.
“I still see Romain being a part of what we’re doing and hopefully a big future at this place. It was simply a case of where we’re at at the moment.
“For young players and players of Romain’s type, when you have a team playing the way we are at the moment and in a tough moment, it’s not easy to come in and give young players opportunities. I’ve got a lot of experience working with young players.
“And for all the success that you sometimes see down the line, there’s difficult moments. There’s times when it’s not the right time to put them in and give them development time and there’s times when there is.
“He’s got all the support he needs from us. He’ll be disappointed and rightly so but it’s no big deal from my point of view.”