Millwall sellout away section at QPR – as boss Gary Rowett excited by fixture-heavy month for the Lions

Gary Rowett is looking forward to see his Millwall side play in front of a packed out away following in Saturday’s match at QPR.

The Lions will have 3,000 supporters at Loftus Road.

R’s manager Neil Critchley has described his side as “not being in a great moment” after just one win in their last 10 matches, with four of those defeats.

Millwall can move back into the Championship top six this weekend if results work in their favour.

“They have got good players and a good manager in Neil,” Rowett told the South London Press. “They had the change, with Michael Beale going to Rangers, which I’m sure hasn’t helped their continuity, just by losing a manager in the middle of the season when they were in a good position.

“It’s a tough one to come into mid-season and maintain that. It’s not for me to judge where they are, why they are there and what their form is like.

“We view every game the same – that form can end in a heartbeat if we don’t perform or turn up and do the right things on the day. If we do, if we make it difficult for QPR then we’ve got a team that can go there and get a result. But we know we will have to be at the top of our game – just like at Cardiff, Preston, Watford and Bristol City. If you don’t do it properly and perform to the top of our game then you don’t get anything in these type of matches.

“We’ll go there, get on the front foot and try to find the right blend, if we can. We’ll have a go in front of our fans – that’s what it’s all about. Three thousand travelling, incredible following. The crowd are doing their bit at the moment and it’s down to us as staff and the team to do our bit in return.

“It’s always a good atmosphere there. The stands are quite close to the pitch. With the away end completely packed it will just add to that.

“I’m really looking forward to the game. You get to this stage of the season where you want the games. I know we’ve got a lot coming up in February and it looks a tough month, but you’d rather be doing that then training every day.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of playing-recovering, playing-recovering – with very little preparation time. This is our last week before we get that extended run of games.

“I’ve never gone to QPR’s ground and found an easy way to win. It’s a difficult place to go but we’re in pretty confident mood and good spirits. We’re disappointed with the point last weekend, we felt we should’ve got more, but we want the next game to come around and test ourselves again.”

Millwall had a nigh-on capacity crowd for last weekend’s 1-1 draw at The Den. It was their third biggest attendance at the new stadium since it opened.

“It’s definitely the best atmosphere I’ve managed at The Den,” said Rowett. “There were a couple of moments, you could look back to the goal against Charlton when Smudge (Matt Smith) scored late on. Because it was a local game and the enormity of the game, we scored last minute, those things stand with you.

“But I hadn’t been here long then, so it just felt like a great moment anyway. It was great to see The Den full. We’ve been in tough times and not had it full that many times, although the fans make a helluva lot of noise regardless – which is testament to them. To have to full certainly felt like a top, top atmosphere and I’d love some more of those games.

“Hopefully the fans went away at least seeing a game that I would imagine they enjoyed. They’d have been disappointed we didn’t win but will have seen the chances and some of the decisions. Hopefully they’ll be enthused and wanting to make it a full house many more times.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD