Millwall boss Gary Rowett outlines what pleased him from Championship stalemate at Birmingham City

Gary Rowett was keen to outline the positives after Millwall were held to a 0-0 draw by Birmingham City in a drab affair on Wednesday night.

The Lions had the better chances against Rowett’s former side but were forced to settle for a point after second-half substitute Tyler Burey blew a great chance late in the game.

The display was a vast improvement on Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Huddersfield – something Rowett was quick to point out.

“It was always going to be tough with the conditions,” said the Lions boss. “The only bonus and big part of the evening was that it actually stopped raining for a while, which at least kept us dry.

“We knew it was going to be tough. Birmingham have had a very good home record recently, I watched them play QPR and they blew them away with that intensity and the crowd got right behind them in the first 20, 25 minutes. We knew that would happen here tonight.

“We defended really well. To come here and for Birmingham to have no shots on target and our keeper not having to make a save, it was a brilliant effort.”

Despite Birmingham’s home advantage, the Lions controlled the majority of the match and had the best chance to seal the points when Burey broke through on goal in the 75th minute.

The former AFC Wimbledon man had Andreas Voglsammer square but elected to go it alone and struck straight at Ruddy – but Rowett was reluctant to criticise Burey after the match.

Rowett added: “It’s the Championship. Sometimes one big moment can make the difference between three points and one point. We had the big moment, we just couldn’t quite take it. It was Tyler’s [Burey] run, he did brilliant to get in there in the first place, possibly he could’ve lifted it over Ruddy or squared it to Voglsammer, who has a tap-in. Again, I understand why he shot.

“That was a big moment, and unfortunately for us it didn’t go in, because up until that point we nullified Birmingham’s threat and had some moments of control. I’d like a bit more quality, I’d like us to settle down a little bit more, but it’s a difficult game. Both teams are going at it, both teams are front-foot teams who want to hurt opponents on set-pieces as well as in open play. The ref made it a little bit stop-start as well.

“It was a tough game, but it was another improved performance on the road in terms of our resilience. The last four games, apart from Huddersfield, I think three of them have been very, very positive.”