‘You can’t just sit back’ – Millwall boss on Tuesday night’s test against Championship leaders Fulham

Gary Rowett says his Millwall side cannot go to Championship leaders Fulham on Tuesday with an ultra defensive mindset.

The Lions lost 2-1 at The Den in August with Benik Afobe scoring for the home side.

The widely-held view was that Fulham – who had 16 shots in the match – should have run out more comfortable winners.

The free-scoring Whites have netted 74 times in 28 league matches. Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored 28 goals, one fewer that Millwall’s team total of 29.

Rowett said: “We’ll approach the game like any other game. At home we got caught a little bit up the pitch. They have got that pace and that quality and those goalscorers to try and punish any mistake that you make.

“From a defensive point of view you have to get it spot on. But you also have to give them a problem the other way. Like we found with Bournemouth at home, these are not the sort of games where you can sit back and lock the game up.

“You have to be proactive and find ways to hurt them offensively and with the players we’ve got – the likes of Oli Burke and Luke Freeman coming into the group with Jed [Wallace] back – we can hurt any team in this division.

“We’ll look to find the right balance. But I said it at the time, I think they are the best team in the division. We’ll have to be at our best to get a result. These are the sort of challenges you enjoy as a team. Often our team will step up and perform to a better level. We like these kind of games but we’re respectful they are tough opponents.”