Millwall striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson on ‘care-free’ approach paying off, his goal celebration against QPR and season’s best running stats at Bristol City

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson reckons his miss against Cardiff City has been a turning point in his Millwall career.

The Icelandic international failed to even hit the target when slipped through against the Welsh side at the end of November.

But Bodvarsson then scored his first goal of the campaign in the 1-1 draw with QPR and was excellent in the recent 2-0 victory at Bristol City.

The 28-year-old also produced an excellent driving run into the left of the box before crossing for Tom Bradshaw to convert against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

There were high hopes when Bodvarsson signed from Reading in July 2019 and now he is belatedly beginning to deliver the goods.

Bodvarsson agrees with Lions boss Gary Rowett that his time in SE16 has not gone as he envisaged.

“It’s a fair comment – especially the first season was a disappointment,” he said. “I won’t hide from that fact.

“I don’t know where it came from, but I feel more confident now. I had a great chance against Cardiff and I just completely messed it up. In a weird way it made me think ‘what’s the worst that can happen now?’

“As a centre-forward you do miss chances but after that one I felt really down. But it has spun around in the other directions.

“I thought ‘okay, this happened – it can’t really get much worse – what should you do about it?’ I just kept on working hard, grinding out the training sessions and doing my best when I had an opportunity.

“I don’t think it matters how experienced you are, those kind of difficult moments wear on you. I think it made me approach things more care-free. Now I feel more confident than ever.”

When Bodvarsson struck from close range against the R’s it ended a 20-match run for club and country without a goal.

The last time he had hit the back of the net was the 4-1 victory over Huddersfield on the final day of the 2019-20 season.

“It was great, a massive weight off my shoulders,” said Bodvarsson. “But also I was just really happy to get my first goal of the season.”

He celebrated by putting his fingers in his ears.

“It was nothing cynical or aggressive to our own fans,” said Bodvarsson. “After the Cardiff game I got a lot of really nasty messages – not only towards me but also towards my family members.

“So when I scored all the feelings came over me. The first thing that came to mind was just aimed at those people with those nasty messages, because they weren’t great.

“I’m passionate about things and when I scored I got emotional.”

Bodvarsson’s best display came at Ashton Gate last week. He ran 12.2 kilometres – the furthest of any Millwall player this season.

His efforts helped Millwall halt a 10-game winless spell.

“Our sports science were asking me what I had eaten pre-match – it was nothing special that day,” said Bodvarsson. “It was pasta and salmon – but maybe it was Icelandic salmon!

“It was one of those games where you just feel you can run forever. Everyone was really at it, not just me. We knew we needed to be, because we’d had such a bad result before. It was a pivotal game for us to bounce back.

“We worked really hard and were disciplined defensively. We scored a couple of goals as well. It was a positive performance and that lifted me confidence wise as well.”

Bodvarsson got the assist for strike parner Bradshaw at the weekend – the duo’s mobility and work ethic a factor in Millwall’s livelier attacking displays.

“We seem to find each other quite well,” said Bodvarsson. “He started the attack by finding me and I know he’d be in the box straightaway. I drove as far as possible into the box and tried to find him – it worked.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t win. It was a tight game and a point was probably fair.”

Millwall are in lockdown after positive Covid-19 cases in their squad. It means the Boxing Day trip to Bournemouth and December 29 meeting with Watford at The Den need to be rescheduled.

“The timing is a bit annoying because I feel like we were putting on better performances,” said Bodvarsson. “We were in the rhythm – and I’d say the same for myself.

“I was getting consistently more minutes and that gives you more confidence. I’ve played at least 80 minutes in three games on the spin.”

Icelandic tradition is to open Christmas presents on December 24. Bodvarsson will spend the festive period in his home in Bromley with wife Maria Osk Skuladottir and daughter Sunneva Sif Jonsdottir.

“When I played in Germany you go at least a week or two off in this period,” he said. “And in Norway this time is their off season.

“So when I first came to the UK with Wolves it was a new experience to have so many games. It was weird initially.

“I love Christmas. It’s not the most ideal thing in the world [to play games] but you get on with it, because that’s how the profession is.

“It will be important for everyone to stay fit and we’ll have days training individually and then hopefully as a group sooner rather than later.”

Bodvarsson’s Millwall contract runs until the summer of 2022.

“I feel alright right now,” he said. “I’m doing okay and I feel like a big part of the team as well.

“As a footballer you want to be playing almost every game – whether you are at Millwall or somewhere else. If you’re not having those opportunities then you’re not satisfied.

“At the moment I’m satisfied and I have a contract here. I’ll just try to play as well as I can – for me and for the club – and see how it goes.”