NEIL FEELS LIKE HE'S BACK HOME

NEIL Harris says his "wonderful" teenage years in the city were a major factor in his decision to join Cambridge United.

- Chris Dunlavy

Harris was appointed on Wednesday and replaces Mark Bonner, who lost his job after a three-game losing run left the U's 18th in League One.

But while the 46-year-old is new to the Abbey, his ties to Cambridge stretch back nearly three decades. Back in the mid-90s, Harris was an apprentice underwriter working in London who played part-time football to earn extra cash.

Initially with Maldon Town, he joined Cambridge City of the Dr Martens League for a fee of £5,000 in 1996 and proved so prolific that he was taken on trial at Liverpool Roy Evans was unimpressed, but a few months later Harris joined Millwall and eventually became the club's all-time record goalscorer.

Great

Now, after a successful playing career and 400 games as a manager at Millwall, Cardiff and Gillingham, Harris is back in the city he calls his second home.

"They were good days, great days," he recalls. "I was 18 or 19 at the time, working in the City, getting the train up to Cambridge for training and games. If I was lucky I'd get a lift home! "It was a different apprenticeship to what the YTS lads.