Danny McNamara has extra reason to want to reach Championship play-offs with Millwall

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Danny McNamara has an extra incentive for Millwall to reach the Championship play-offs.

If the Sidcup-born defender plays all of their remaining league matches this season then he will be on 99 appearances for the Lions.

And that means McNamara, 24, can hit a landmark century if the South London club reach the play-offs in England’s second tier for the first time in 21 years.

“I knew I was close,” the right-back, who came through Millwall’s academy set-up, told the South London Press. “If I’m fortunate enough to play in every game until the end of the season that will be blinding.

“To get to nearly 100 games in two, or two-and-a-half seasons, is a real positive for me.

“Hopefully we get to that magic play-off spot, but we have got to keep performing the way we are doing and putting in those results.”

McNamara has started every game since October 5, the 1-1 draw at Rotherham United.

“I’ve been really pleased with my form,” he said. “I’ve tried to put in performances, week in and week out. We know how relentless the Championship is, you’ve got to be on your game for every single match. If you drop then it can punish you.

“I feel like I’m playing the best I possibly can at the moment. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing.

“I back myself one-v-one against anyone. I’m pretty confident in that. I still want to get better at that, I always want to develop, and I know that the attacking side of my game needs improving.

“I’m doing a lot of one-to-one work with Paul Robinson (first-team coach) on the training pitch – crossing and finishing drills.

“It is coming along. I would like to add more goals and assists to my game but playing in a back four you maybe don’t get up as high as you do in a back five.

“I’ll keep working hard and hopefully that will come.”

McNamara featured 38 times last season for the Lions as they kept their top-six hopes alive until the final day.

But a 1-0 reverse at Bournemouth, coupled with results elsewhere, saw Millwall finish ninth.

McNamara won the Junior Lions’ Player of the Year award and he took silver in the Millwall Supporters’ Club Player of the Year award in the previous campaign.

“Last season we performed really well,” said McNamara. “We dropped a lot of points from silly results.

“It was good to get it down to the last couple of games of the season, it was exciting for us and the fans.

“I was gutted that we didn’t get in there. I feel this season that we have got a massive, massive chance.

“If we get in there it will be a massive achievement.

“We’ll give it our all. We have worked so hard this season and all the lads are just going to up it from now – we’d be silly to settle for anything else.”

Millwall have a four-point cushion over seventh place.

A 0-0 draw at in-form West Bromwich Albion last weekend moved the Lions up a spot to fifth in the standings.

“It was a good result,” said McNamara, who has had loan spells with St Johnstone, Newport County, Dover Athletic and Havant & Waterlooville.

“We know that West Brom is a tough place to go.

“If you asked us before the game if we would take a point, then we’d have said yeah. We had a few chances where we could’ve gone on to win the game and they had a few in the first half – probably none of them were clearcut ones.

“As a team we performed really well. I don’t think Longy (George Long) had much to do.

“A draw was a fair result and other ones around us went our way, so it’s all positive.”

Another burning ambition for McNamara is full international honours with Republic of Ireland.

He has been capped twice at U21 level.

“There has been contact,” said McNamara. “I made the provisional squad (in the last international break) and got an email to say I was going to be on standby. That is becoming a regular theme for the last year or so.

“I’m hoping that eventually I will get my call up, but I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing. I think I’m doing enough, but Ireland have got a very strong squad in my position.

“I’ve got to be patient and just see what happens.”