Alex Pearce: Millwall need to be more clinical

BY JAKE SANDERS

Alex Pearce lauded Millwall’s “never-say-die attitude” – but admitted his side must be more clinical.

The Lions drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest on Friday night and should have been further ahead at the break than the slender lead given to them by Shaun Williams’ early header.

Former Millwall striker Lewis Grabban came off the bench and scored twice in the final half hour to swing the game Forest’s way, before Aiden O’Brien stuck in stoppage-time to ensure a share of the spoils.

Pearce said: “The first half we were outstanding, we moved the ball really well which is what we’ve been trying to implement in training and into our games of late. I thought we did that very well.

“We were a threat from set-plays, scored a great goal through Willo [Shaun Williams]. Going into the break we should have been out of sight. When it’s only 1-0 you’re always in danger.

“They’re a top side, they’re fourth in the league for a reason and are going to have a spell. Second half they did that. They performed better than us second half.

“I was disappointed with the goals we conceded. What I will say is we showed fantastic character to come back, a never-say-die attitude.

“I’m really pleased for Aiden O’Brien because he’s been training really well of late. He deserves that.”

Millwall are unbeaten in five matches, have lost just once in seven since the arrival of Gary Rowett and are only five points adrift of the top-six.

“It’s a solid start, we’re proving a hard team to beat,” Pearce admitted. “I’m not sure how to feel, whether it’s two points dropped or a point gained. Going into the 90th minute at 2-1 down I think we’ve got to look at it as a positive that we came back.

“We’re desperate to get points on the board, we’ve shown that and how good a group we are. We showed character to come back on our home patch.

“We’ve got a very tight-knit group and it showed with the subs that came on and helped us. It’s a squad game and I’ve been there myself, you have to train well. It’s a small squad and everyone will be needed.

“Players who are not in the team at the moment shouldn’t be too disheartened because very soon they could be on the field affecting the game and affecting our season.

“It would be good if we could add to our squad in January to give us a little bit more depth. There are some great foundations so if we could add a little bit more it could help us out moving forward. That would be more than welcome.

“We’re a hard team to beat but can we add that extra bit of quality in the final third? Possibly. We could have had better end product, better crosses for our front men.

“That’s how we take ourselves to the next stage of our development. We’ve got the first bit, we’re solid and hard to beat, now can we look to hurt teams?

“We’ve got some great players and good attacking threats and we’ve shown this season that we can really play on the break and hurt teams on the counter.

“We also showed that we can build up play. It’s just about bringing that out on a more consistent basis.”

PICTURE BY BRIAN TONKS