Mark Bonner: ‘Cambridge United and head coach Neil Harris are the perfect fit’

Mark Bonner has described Neil Harris as the ‘perfect fit’ following his reappointment as Cambridge United head coach.

Following his return to the club earlier this week as director of football, it was former boss Bonner’s job to lead the search for Garry Monk successor’s after his departure on Sunday.

And he quickly landed on Harris, who replaced him in the U’s hotseat in December 2023 – only for that spell to end abruptly after only 14 games.

Asked why he had been so keen to bring Harris back to the club, Bonner said: “His record speaks for itself. We don’t need to spend too long discussing how competitive Neil’s teams can be, how successful he’s been, the success he’s had this year (at Millwall) and the impact he had on the team (at Cambridge) when he joined. All of the traits of a Cambridge team at it’s very core, I think Neil’s teams play with them.

“We see the game similarly and we understand how to build winning teams in League One and League Two.

“There will be points of difference but fundamentally the values we have are really similar. The way in which a team at this club should play to be really competitive and give itself the best chance of winning are really similar.

“And then the differences of opinions that we’ll have – or the slight differences in our personalities – that’s really good and healthy to drive debate and drive things forward.

“We need a real energy and real intensity about the club. We need a real drive and attitude to winning and being hard to beat.

“Neil brings all of those things and for me it’s a perfect fit. We’ve seen a small snippet of that in the recent history. I wasn’t here for that but I know what it was and I believe that over the coming couple of years we’ll see that again.”

Having previously held the position as head coach of the club himself, Bonner was also keen to dismiss any notion of a potential conflict of interests.

He added: “I wasn’t coming back to do the job that Neil is doing. I don’t want that job. I’ve done that job and I’m not going to do it again here.

“It’s really simple for me. Our jobs are really different but we’re going to work closely together and the experiences I’ve had in that role, I think can support Neil in a good way.

“But that’s (head coach) not the job here for me. It’s sitting in the background and trying to create conditions for whoever is in that (head coach’s) seat to be successful.”

From Harris’ perspective, he has welcomed the chance to work alongside somebody that knows the trials and tribulations of modern day management.

Since leaving Cambridge towards the back end of 2023, Bonner has also had a spell in charge of Gillingham, which only came to a conclusion last month.

Harris said: “We’re a team. The beauty for me with Mark being in his role is that he knows the football club. He knows what good practice is and what good culture is.

“He knows what makes Cambridge United tick from growing up in the area and being a fan.

“Probably the biggest support network for me is that he’s been a current manager. It’s difficult to coach and manage in the modern game, so to have somebody that knows it and it has lived it recently is a huge bonus for me. We’re convinced it’s going to work really well.

“It’s a lot nicer to have Mark sat there than anything different because when I need a moment of comfort or a strong opinion, Mark will certainly give that to me.”