Millwall boss has ‘full confidence’ as Championship run-in looks set to come down to fine margins

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Gary Rowett has “full confidence” in his Millwall players as they head into another big Den clash that can have major implications on the final complexion of the Championship top six.

The Lions are fifth in the table but have not scored in their last four league matches.

A stalemate in SE16 against Luton Town on Good Friday was followed by a 1-0 defeat at Hull City at the start of this week, the South Londoners punished for not taking a number of scoring opportunities.

Tomorrow’s opponents Preston are level on points with the Lions but outside the play-offs on goal difference.

Rowett said earlier this week that his side would “only have themselves to blame” if they failed to pick up wins in the next four matches before a final day showdown against Blackburn.

“If it comes down to the last game then it is a home one against a team near us,” the Lions chief told the South London Press. “That is going to be a one-off – game on. You want to get to that position either in it or with a chance to get in it.

“We’re fifth in the league because of 41 games, we have to remind ourselves of that. We’re not fifth in the league because we’ve been lucky. We’re not fifth in the league because we’ve got away with it in the last four games. And the last four games won’t define where we finish in the league.

“After 41 games last season we were ninth and we’re now fifth. We have got to win games of football.

“I’m watching big games unfold around us. I watched the Champions League game the other night and Bayern Munich have now got three goals to claw back on Manchester City.

“They are one-off games. You have got to go and perform. We’re into the money games now – the games that really count.

“I spoke about it previously, how we won’t get carried away or too excited. It’s the last stage of the season which is really important. That’s where we’re at. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the group. We’ve worked so hard to get to this point, we’ll go out there against Preston and try and put in another big home performance, I’m sure backed by our fans.

“This is brilliant. It’s what you want to be part of. Of course we’d love to be eight points clear but we’re not – because we haven’t scored enough goals. So therefore we have still got a lot of work to do.”