‘Poor mistakes’ – Joe Edwards slams Millwall’s display after Ipswich thrashing

Joe Edwards slammed Millwall’s latest defensive horror show after they were thrashed 4-0 by Ipswich Town at The Den.

The Lions went in at the break 3-0 down courtesy of goals from Nathan Broadhead, a Wes Harding own goal and Kieffer Moore. Ali Al-Hamadi finished the rout from the penalty spot late in the second half after being felled by Murray Wallace.

Millwall are now 21st in the Championship heading into this weekend’s crunch match against Sheffield Wednesday, just four points above the relegation zone.

And Edwards pulled no punches in his post-match assessment, telling Sky Sports: “It [errors] have been happening too often to us.

“Starting games well at home isn’t anything to be screaming about – you have to play well for the full game against teams like this. We did – we had a clear plan and we knew what their threats were.

“For 25 minutes, it was a game, but as it is with us at the moment, we make an error, followed by another error. We’re better than that and they’re poor mistakes. But the reality is most errors we make we’re getting punished in the most brutal way.”

Edwards continued, taking umbrage when he was asked whether or not he had the players capable of playing the type of football he wanted to see.

He added: “It’s nothing to do with the type of football tonight, it’s about defending. Since I’ve come in, people have been looking for the narrative of what’s changed: playing style, possession, that sort of stuff. I get that people look for narratives, but at the end of the day, defending is a fundamental part of the game.

“When I’m preparing a team to play Ipswich and knowing full well how good they’ve been this season, there’s nothing from my end where we’re going out to be loose in and around our own box. And that’s exactly what it was.

“We have to perform better, it’s that simple. You talk about personnel, and there are individuals making mistakes at the moment, [but] this is the same group of players which were in a tough spell over December, and we then had four clean sheets in a row over the Christmas period.

“You rack your brains at times because we had a plan, and for 25 minutes, we eradicated Ipswich’s threat. Form of players affects confidence a bit, which you can see. That’s been the story; we get this momentum, and then when one blow goes against us, we unravel a bit, which we speak about and analyse.

“We’re in poor form and making a lot of mistakes and getting punished for it, but the only way to address it is to stand up and face it and be better.”