Millwall’s Jed Wallace: Lack of fans has definitely affected my game

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

The next Championship season will start on August 7. And Millwall know they will definitely be in it for a fifth consecutive campaign. The Lions have made sure of that with 11 matches still to go.

The last time Millwall have been in English football’s second tier for longer is six years, then they were relegated in 1996 and spent the next five seasons trying to get back up before a title win under Mark McGhee, who then led them to the play-offs in 2002.

That is the last time that Millwall broke into the top six. Their highest finish since is eighth, achieved in recent times under both Neil Harris and Gary Rowett.

Sandwiched in between was an unwanted flirtation with relegation.

There have been more highs than lows in the Lions’ recent history. And Jed Wallace, a key component of the side over the last five years, is as well-placed as anyone to offer an assessment.

“If we finish in the top half, no Millwall fan can tell me we haven’t been successful in the last four years,” said the livewire winger.

“We’re trying to get ourselves in those top echelons of the division and compete with the likes of Bristol City and Stoke.

“Us and Barnsley are the ones who look a little out of place [in the table] in terms of training grounds and infrastructures.

“But it does still feel weirdly like we’ve not done as well as we should have. We want to finish top half and build a bit of momentum for when the fans are hopefully here next season.”

Only the division’s top three have conceded fewer goals than Millwall. But they are the lowest scorers in the top half of the table. They’ve lacked a prolific scorer ever since the goals of Lee Gregory and Steve Morison fired them out of League One.

“It’s been our downfall the last two years, we haven’t scored enough goals, but we’ve also had one of the best defensive records in the league,” said Wallace.

“Do you open up, try to score more goals and then lose what you’re good at? If you’re at the ground and it’s a hard, gritty win then everyone goes home happy. At the moment it’s a different feel when you watch on TV.

“We’re not the sort of team that creates loads and loads of chances. But there are 10 or 15 clubs who would love to have our defensive game. And we’re also not the sort of team where people say ‘they lost their fourth game in a row, or they haven’t keep a clean sheet in 13’ – we’re never on the end of those kind of stats.”

Wallace has been the club’s stellar attacker since that play-off final win over Bradford City.

He has played at least 42 matches in the last three season and last season did the double – 10 goals and 12 assists.

Wallace has started 33 of Millwall’s 35 league games this time around – and leads their goal charts with seven.

He jumps in when asked if the lack of supporters due to the Covid-19 pandemic has affected his game.

“One hundred per cent. When I think of my best games for Millwall – Leeds…home and away. I seem to always score goals against the bigger teams in the division.

“The cup games – those big occasions and high-pressure games – I certainly relish.

“I feed massively off the adrenaline of the crowd. I think the supporters can see that. We’ve not had that. You ask the players and 90 per cent have missed the fans and then there’s a few who prefer it.

“The Den is somewhere you feel like you’ve got a full, rapturous house in there – even if it is only 15,000 or 16,000. It feels like a real atmosphere.

“The biggest difference has been the pitches. I don’t know what’s happened to them. I know they were supposed to redo the one at The Den in the summer – and you can really see that now. The quality of the pitches has been the biggest detriment to how you feel physically.

“End of season games with no fans and nothing to play for is certainly not something we want to be doing.

“If we finish in the top half then it does feel like you’ve had more of a successful season. We don’t want to peter out and finish 14th or 15th. We certainly want to do much more than that.

“We want to give ourselves a chance to achieve something. But we need to finish the season as strongly as we can, so we can attract better players and the fans can be excited to be back supporting us next season. I’m sure they’ve missed it.”

One benefit for the club is that they can press ahead with plans with no uncertainty over their status. There is set to be a bit of player turnover this summer with Matt Smith, Shaun Williams, Alex Pearce and Shane Ferguson all out of contract.

“We definitely need a few in the summer,” said Wallace, who has made 210 appearances for the Lions.

“Evo [George Evans] and Kief [Maikel Kieftenbeld] are good signings. Kief’s only played three games [before he was ruled out with a hamstring injury]. I’d put Evo in the same category as the likes of Murray Wallace and Ryan Leonard – solid, reliable, six foot, mobile, good on the ball and can play a few positions. He’s going to be a big player for us moving forward.

“We’re light in the front end of the pitch, so I’m sure the gaffer will be looking to add options in that area.

“If there was ever a time for Millwall to try and bridge that gap [to the top six] then it’s probably now when they’ve got a good squad at a good age – and a great manager.

“The chairman [John Berylson] has been fantastic since I’ve walked into this football club. As long as he stays, and the gaffer does, there is no reason Millwall can’t keep pushing up.”