Four takeaways from Millwall’s 2-0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday – Pressure firmly on the Lions after relegation battle defeat

Millwall’s winless run now stands at eight games after the Lions were defeated by Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon. Anthony Musaba scored and made a goal as the Owls moved to within four points of a confidence-decimated Millwall team that has scored just four league goals in 2024. 

It leaves Millwall in a really sticky spot. After New Year’s Day’s win at Bristol City, a team that was sitting 12 points clear of the bottom three has now lost four on the trot and taken one point from the last 21 available. It has seen them slide alarmingly towards the relegation scrap. 

Here are Alex Grace’s takeaways from what could be a very defining day in the season. 

IPSWICH WAS BAD, BUT THIS WAS WORSE 

It’s been an awful week. 

After the defeat at Coventry, there was a massive focus on these two home games being a chance for the Lions to pick up some points. Ipswich had won just once in their previous nine games before they arrived in South London. They didn’t need to work to earn their points and goals, as Millwall were very charitable and handed them four goals on a plate. 

It’s not just losing games that is concerning. It’s how games are being lost. 

The Christmas period is what Joe Edwards keeps relating to when his side was putting points on the board. That run of victories is the performance level that the head coach wants to get back to. There were positives even in the games early in 2024, the FA Cup against Leicester and the defeat to Middlesbrough. Something has changed since the defeat at QPR, which was another poor display. 

The two goals conceded are yet again poor, poor mistakes. Every mistake Millwall are making they are getting punished for. Musaba nutmegged Ryan Leonard for the first goal, and suddenly, the defence was exposed, and the ball ended up in the back of the Millwall net. That, mixed with some incredibly soft defending, led to the second. Barry Bannan, a player with immense quality, was given time and space to slot Musaba through, and he finished well into the bottom corner.  

This was the game that Millwall knew they couldn’t lose. The level of performance is even more of a concern. This Wednesday side has lost 20 games this season and scored only seven goals away from home before this contest, and in truth, they were never under any pressure. 

FANS TURN AS RELEGATION FEARS DEEPEN 

Millwall are a side that needs its fans. There is such a good atmosphere when this side is united, and there is a connection between the players and the stands. It’s clear at the moment this is not the case. Most of the fanbase believes that the players have much to answer for. 

The scenes at half-time were toxic, and the frustrations of the fanbase towards the team were evident for all to see. This will only get worse if things do not change fast. The only way to change it is to dig in, work and get the results to pull the side out of trouble. Easier said than done, of course.

What makes things worse now is that teams around them are picking up points. Wednesday are now just four behind and are suddenly back in the race to stay up. QPR’s win at Bristol City means the Lions are just one point above the bottom three.

PRESSURE WELL AND TRULY ON EVERYONE AT THE CLUB 

It’s been a terrible period for the club. The passing of John Berylson in the summer rocked the club to its core. It wasn’t expected. He led the club through the hard times, and it’s times like these when he would come out and offer that bit of hope and galvanise all sections of the club. Now, it’s unclear who can do that.

As the head coach, the pressure now ramps up on Edwards. His record of four wins in 19 games gives him a win percentage of just over 21. The debate of who is to blame will continue, as each person will have a different view. Some will blame the 37-year-old in his first job as a head coach. Some will blame the players who have managed to win just 17 games out of 54 since the start of 2023. 

This team has been on the slide for a while, and it’s not just this period of games. Last season’s play-off capitulation has carried into this season. Confidence is at an all-time low, and there is no easy way out when you get into this kind of rut. 

At times like this, you need the senior players to step up and galvanise the group. In 2018-19, the last time Millwall were in this position, Neil Harris acted and brought in Alex Pearce, a strong leader with experience in these types of battles. Watching Millwall over the last couple of weeks, particularly against Ipswich, highlighted the lack of leadership on the pitch. Shaun Hutchinson has made just nine league appearances this season. His leadership has been badly missed. 

This team has players of experience. They need to step up and show it before it’s too late.

There is a big disconnect between the fans and not just the players but the club as a whole, with those in charge of recruitment the main target from the Lions faithful. A lacklustre January window last year left the Lions with few options to rotate when things got tough towards the end of the season. Last summer’s window also left the fans feeling frustrated. The two priority areas, a striker and defensive reinforcements, were identified.

Kevin Nisbet was brought in to aide the Lions with their goalscoring and ease the burden on Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming. However, the defensive side of things didn’t appear. Each of the last two years saw Dan Ballard and Charlie Cresswell arrive on loan, and both played a vital role in the side’s season. The change of formation to three central defenders reinforced this message. The window closed with just Shaun Hutchinson, Jake Cooper, Wes Harding and Murray Wallace as the recognised central defenders. Hutchinson has missed most of the season with different injuries, meaning there has been no wriggle room to change personnel. 

THIRTEEN GAMES TO GO, AND THE FIXTURES DON’T GET ANY EASIER 

Edwards says his side must stand up and be counted. They must show their inner fight to come through this period of adversity. The only way you change the mood in football is by winning games. 

Plenty remains to play for, and it remains in Millwall’s hands. They stay outside the bottom three, but the gap has closed. The Lions could well find themselves in the below-the-dotted line next weekend. 

We are now entering the final third of the season. Millwall are in a position they are not used to, fighting to stay in the league. This is bandied around a lot that each game, when it gets to this stage, is a cup final, but in Millwall’s terms, it could well be. 

It’s a trip to Southampton next for the South Londoners. On paper, it’s a trip that looks like the worst possible game to have after the week that has just gone, but historically, it is these games where Millwall stood up and be counted. They need something heading into March, which sees games against Watford, Blackburn, Leeds, and West Brom. 

It looks tough, but we all know from past experiences it’s when their backs are to the wall that Millwall come out fighting.