Millwall boss looking forward to home return – Den matches have been a rarity in past month
Millwall will have only played four matches at The Den by the start of October – with tomorrow’s derby against QPR their first home match in more than a month.
The Lions were drawn away in both their League Cup matches. And it means after the trip to Luton Town that they will have played eight fixtures away from SE16.
“The cup games overload it a little bit but I feel like we’ve very rarely been at The Den,” said Millwall manager Neil Harris. “I want to play at The Den all the time. It is a great cauldron – it’s our home and a difficult place for opponents to come.
“When you have tough fixtures at the start, certainly the away ones, there are two ways you can look at it. That we are chalking off real tough away games and that kinder-looking fixtures are coming along.
“It also slants the league table. By the time we get to October 5 [at home to Leeds United] then a lot of teams will have played more home games than away – that can affect the league table.
“We know that it evens itself out. As ever we have to make sure The Den is a place that we pick up as many points as we can. We need to make it difficult and intimidating for opponents but also enjoyable for our fans to see us playing there.
“We’ve got seven points out of nine at home and I’m disappointed it is not nine. They have been three strong performances and fantastic atmospheres. That is the way it has got to be for the season.
“On the road we have got to find a way to get wins quicker than we have in the last two seasons.”
Winger Jiri Skalak is still not recovered from a foot and heel injury that forced him off in last month’s derby defeat at Fulham.
Harris has initially hoped the Czech Republic winger would be back after the international break.
“He got a kick on a nasty place and every part of the body has to go though the heel and bottom of the foot when you move,” said the Lions chief. “These type of injuries are quite uncommon – you might see one like this every five or six years at a football club.
“When we get to the root of the problem then we’ll get him back on the training pitch and back fit.”