‘It makes it a little bit false’ – Millwall team is set up to play in front of a noisy Den….that made pre-season friendly trickier

Gary Rowett is confident his Millwall side will be a different proposition in their Championship opener against Stoke this weekend at a packed Den.

The Lions drew 1-1 with Ipswich Town on Saturday and struggled to click in the final third.

But Rowett partly put that down to the fact that there was only a small crowd in attendance for their final pre-season friendly before the league action gets underway against his former club on Saturday.

“It was another good exercise against a team I don’t think are far away from a Championship team – so that was a tick,” Rowett told the South London Press.

“In terms of fitness and more game time for players and new players – the likes of Jamie Shackleton; I thought I had to start him just to get him some game time with the group, whereas it might be if I was picking the team to start the season I might make some decisions differently. We mixed up the decision-making process, so that was another tick.

“I watched the game back and thought we were really well-structured and showed good energy.

“We played with a lack of quality, at times. That was from players who I’ve seen do it 100 times before and make better decisions and better passes on the ball. It was one of those games where it didn’t quite ebb and flow in the attacking half. But, having said that, it was a pretty even game, like the Hammarby one. It’s like anything, you want a little bit more.

“When you recruit and build a team to play in front of the fans at The Den it has to have certain elements to it. When you’re that team without [a lot of] fans it’s quite hard to judge. It’s a team of energy and want to go and get after teams, when we haven’t got the atmosphere it makes it a little bit false in some ways.

“There were some good bits and quite a few we can take into the week and put back into practise, which is going from the back to the front with a bit more control and quality of movement. That’s something you’re always trying to improve on.”