If Lions produced their points average under Gary Rowett over a full Championship season it would be a top-six finish

MILLWALL 1
O’Brien 8
BRENTFORD 0

BY RICHARD CAWLEY AT THE DEN

Gary Rowett’s start to life at Millwall has been a success. If the Lions produced their results under him over a 46-game season then they would end up with a total of 84 points. That would definitely get them in the Championship play-offs.

The South London side have averaged 1.83 points from the 12 matches since Rowett succeeded Neil Harris in the Den hotseat.

Again, if you work on that return for the remaining 21 games then they would get 76 points. That chomping sound is everyone at Millwall biting your arm off at that scenario. Aston Villa finished on that haul last season. No-one needs telling that they got promoted via the play-offs last May.

Seventy-six points would have seen a club finish in the top six in four of the last six campaigns.

And with the inconsistency of so many of the sides in the competition this time around, it looks like it would be good enough again to have a crack at reaching the Premier League in the most exhilarating way possible.

Millwall are on 37 points – after playing on January 1 2019 they had 28. Safety is already pretty much there, barring the most spectacular of implosions. And there doesn’t feel like there is going to be one of those.

Millwall are showing shades of the side which finished eighth in their first season back at this level.

Shaun Hutchinson is back to the level of performances he produced as he won the Player of the Year award.

And squad wise it feels like this team has the kind of defensive solidity needed to push themselves into contention. Bartosz Bialkowski has solved a problem position from last season.

Brentford have plenty of attackers who have been coveted by other clubs but they found it hard to break down Millwall’s five-man backline – Rowett opting for the formation which has seen an upturn in their away form.

Bees head coach Thomas Frank said post-match that he would make no excuses for their defeat….before then going on to have a moan about the quality of the playing surface.

What Millwall did so well on Sunday was breaking up the west London side’s play. The ball regains of Jayson Molumby (eight), Shaun Williams (eight) and Tom Bradshaw (six) underlined their effectiveness.

And they picked their moments to press almost flawlessly too. Get it wrong and it can be a way to open up gaps for the opposition. But the Lions’ effectiveness in that respect was summed up late on when a Brentford free-kick in Millwall’s half ended up being cycled back and then captain Pontus Jansson put the ball out of play.

Molumby’s loan spell from Brighton is going from strength to strength. Sat alongside Williams, the duo’s task is to win the ball and then, for the most part, keep it simple.

The youngster did terrific for the deciding goal. David Raya took too long in clearing the ball and the sliding tackle from the Irishman took the ball off his toes, Aiden O’Brien slotting home.

O’Brien has not been a regular starter since the Lions won promotion – but remains a player who seems to be in the right place at the right time. He has four goals for the campaign, even though he has only started eight of the 26 games.

Rowett felt that the academy product’s displays in training merited a start. There are certainly a position up for grabs when Millwall play a front three, with Connor Mahoney and Jiri Skalak not able yet to fully grasp the opportunities which have come their way.

Millwall’s progress under Rowett has been impressive. And it has been achieved despite a number of injury absences in what isn’t a particularly deep squad.

What the Lions chief will hope is that his only focus needs to be on incomings in the January transfer window – and not the distraction of interest in some of his players.

Millwall (5-2-3): Bialkowski 8, Romeo 7, Hutchinson 8, Pearce 7, Cooper 7, M Wallace 7, Williams 8, Molumby 8, J Wallace 7 (Skalak 87), O’Brien 7 (Ferguson 81), Bradshaw 8 (Bodvarsson 80). Not used: Steele, Mitchell, Mahoney, Smith.

PICTURES BY BRIAN TONKS