ALEX Neil explained his half-time substitutions in Millwall’s 3-0 loss to Birmingham City.

The Lions were three goals down at the interval after a poor first-half showing. Alex Cochrane, Max Bird and Jay Stansfield all got on the scoresheet for the hosts.

Neil made two changes ahead of the second half. Mark Sykes replaced Zak Sturge, with Jordi Osei-Tutu moving to right-back. Dan Kelly then came on for Mihailo Ivanovic as Millwall switched from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The Lions produced an improved performance after the break, creating a flurry of chances in the final 20 minutes, but Blues held on to keep a clean sheet.

NewsAtDen asked Neil about the thinking behind the changes.

“The first change was Zak Sturge, who was struggling with his back,” Neil said. “So we changed it.

“The second change was: I thought we needed an extra man in the middle of the pitch. If you look at how well Mika played at the weekend, I didn’t think we got that this evening.”

Asked about the issue with Sturge’s back, Neil added: “It just stiffened up, so I don’t know.”