Tom Bradshaw and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s partnership up top has potential but will take time, Neil Harris has stressed.

The Millwall boss handed the pair starts in the 2-1 preseason defeat to Southend United, with former Lions striker Theo Robinson inflicting the decisive blows.

Bradshaw and Bodvarsson played together up front for the first time in the visit to Roots Hall but struggled to get going.

When asked about their performances, Harris said: “I thought both looked a little bit short of match fitness.

“Jon, as we know, he hasn’t been playing a lot of football so I was pleased to get him to an hour, and Bradders [Bradshaw] to 80 minutes was a good return for him.

“They have got potential to be a really good pairing with the way they play, we have to utilise their strengths. It is a pairing we haven’t seen on the training pitch or in a game, so they will take time them two.

“Most importantly for them is that they both got through the game injury-free.”

Aside from that, Harris expressed his frustration at how the two goals, scored on 76 and 80 minutes by Robinson, were conceded.

He added: “I said on Sunday after the game that results are irrelevant [in preseason], but I just said to the boys that results are relevant when you concede goals. I don’t like losing games, but I am more fussed by the goals we conceded. We should not have been conceding goals tonight.

“The first goal was a poor, poor goal to give away by us – shape-wise and team-wise. The second goal was just we got kids on the pitch and we get things wrong.

“I am frustrated with that but some of the passages of play were really good football without creating loads. I just said to the group that I am really disappointed at the amount of clear-cut opportunities we created.

“I was not unhappy with the first half, but I just felt it was preseason, testimonial mode. I have been around watching a few games the last seven games and they have all been like that in the first half.

“I said to them [the team] that is not how we really want to play. We want to move the ball with purpose and get it forward a bit quicker but then make good decisions with the ball – when to play, and when not to play.”