‘It’s been eventful!’ – Millwall’s Mr Versatile backing them to stem the flow of goals at wrong end of pitch
Ryan Leonard is backing Millwall to tighten up defensively after conceding eight goals in their opening five Championship matches.
The Lions have built a reputation as a largely miserly backline since winning promotion from League One but only Middlesbrough (nine) have conceded more goals.
Millwall have been breached eight times, although six of those have been on their travels.
Four of their next six fixtures are at The Den where the Lions have an impressive record of 10 wins and two draws in their last 13 league fixtures.
They have twice fought back from two-goal deficits to take points in the current campaign – a 3-2 win over Coventry in SE16 and a 2-2 draw at Swansea.
“The one word to describe our season so far would be eventful,” said Leonard. “We’ve had a decent start. At home we’ve been brilliant and away we have struggled a little bit. It’s early doors and we’ve got a good amount of points on the board. We know our away form needs to improve.
“We kept a clean sheet on the first day of the season and we’ve always built off a strong defence. We know as a group we need to improve on that and be better, but the positive thing is the lads at the top end of the pitch are getting goals and also creating chances in open play.
“Hopefully with a bit of work on the training ground this week, and moving forward, we can show we’ve really worked on it.
“It’s nice that the lads at the top of the pitch are pulling us through at the moment.”
Millwall can chalk up a sixth straight home Championship win for the first time since the 2010-11 season when they host Reading tomorrow. They banked 45 points at The Den last season – only bettered by AFC Bournemouth and Fulham (both 46), who took the automatic promotion spots.
“I’ve been there as an away player and it’s not a nice place to go – it’s hostile and the crowd really get behind us,” said Leonard. “We play with a real intensity at home that does put teams under a lot of pressure.
“It’s hard to win away games in the Championship and The Den proves that more than most places in the League. We’ve created a bit of an aura there.”
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