Zian Flemming’s impressive display likely to earn Den start against Cardiff City
Millwall’s club record signing Zian Flemming looks set to make his first competitive Den start in tomorrow’s Championship clash against Cardiff City.
The 24-year-old Dutch attacker was easily the Lions’ standout performer in Tuesday night’s 2-0 defeat at Burnley – going close with a vicious free-kick which tested keeper Arijanet Muric.
Millwall boss Rowett brought in Flemming and German striker Andreas Voglsammer for starts in Lancashire with Benik Afobe and George Honeyman dropping to the bench.
Asked about those changes, the Lions chief said: “We haven’t scored that many goals and just needed to do something a little different.
“Whenever you play a front three then Bradders [Tom Bradshaw] in the middle is the one who does it so well and diligently – you know he’s one you’ll get the hard yards from and he’ll press intelligently.
“He’s a different type of striker and what I felt we needed for the game and that formation.
“It’s been a difficult start for Zian, to get injured in the first game, and miss two or three weeks of training when the matches are coming thick and fast – you want him to be playing parts of the game to get that feel for the division. It’s the same with Vogey, he hadn’t played that much.
“It was the right time for both of them to step up and start. They showed real quality and some of our brightest moments were when they were on the ball and when they got into good areas. What they showed on the evening, particularly Zian, is that they will shoot from distance. They’ll be very ambitious in and around the edge of the box and that’s something we need to do better.
“They both look a threat and I expect them to get better and better as the games build up.”
A miserable Tuesday night was topped off by Millwall’s team coach being caught behind a huge lorry fire on the M6. It meant many players did not get home until around 7am or 8am on Wednesday. The Lions have dropped to 19th in the table after three successive losses but have the chance to get their Den form, so impressive prior to Saturday’s loss to Reading, back on track against Cardiff City tomorrow.
Millwall have seven points from as many matches – identical to the corresponding stage of last season.
Rowett said: “I track all of those things and before Burnley I think even goals for and against were exactly the same.
“I keep being made aware the club never seem to start particularly well and then come stronger in the second half of the season. It’s not what we want to do but it is where we are.
“I never really like to say this, but we’ve played the top three away from home. Our fixtures have been particularly tough.
“But after winning two of our first three games and that still to be the case after seven, we obviously aren’t happy with that – we’ve got more ambition than that and think we’re better than that. We’ve got to work hard on the training ground and show it on the pitch.”
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