Millwall’s reputation isn’t such a handicap in signing players any more says chairman

Millwall chairman John Berylson has revealed the club is finding it much easier to recruit new players than when he bought the club in 2006.

The 67 year-old Lions supremo says the reputation of the fans from past decades has become less of a hurdle to overcome with making new signings.

“The conversation now is about a player’s wages and our prospects and not about Millwall’s past,” he said in a webchat with fans on the club’s website.

“We can have a pleasant conversation about whether possible recruits want to play for the club and about the contract.

“A lot of people do want to play for Millwall. People know how well we’ve treated the club and a lot of those who turned us down in the past now wish that they were here.

“That is credit to [chief executive] Steve Kavanagh because he has created a culture where we treat people fairly as much as we can.

“Our reputation has cost us in recruiting players and managers and management – everyone had looked at Millwall from the 1960s. A number of players would not return our phone calls or would not consider it.

“That has changed. It was very important to have the right manager. My first recruitment Kenny Jackett – it took a month to convince him to come here. Me and his manager at Manchester City [Sven-Göran Eriksson] spent a lot of time trying to convince him and trying to get over the old reputation.

“But that is now in the past. I was very pleased with getting Kenny and Neil Harris and even Ian Holloway and now Gary Rowett, who has a big reputation.”