‘It’s still out of our hands’ – Millwall midfielder not feeling play-off pressure as win over Middlesborough closes gap
George Honeyman says Millwall are fully focused on taking each game as it comes as the Lions continue their push for a Championship play-off spot.
A hard-fought 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at The Den on Saturday has left them just two points adrift of the top six with four games remaining.
The result keeps Millwall firmly in the play-off mix ahead of Coventry’s trip to Hull City tonight. Honeyman believes the Lions’ recent form has been built on confidence, momentum, and a strong team spirit.
“It’s the beauty of football,” Honeyman said. “The atmosphere against Portsmouth last weekend was amazing and that teed us up. We felt confident — I’m not sure if it’s the good weather, everyone is feeling good. I thought we played really well in that game.
“We’ve just been teeing ourselves up for each game. We played really well against Portsmouth, got the win and we went into Sheffield United thinking, ‘Come on, all the pressure is on them.’ We put in a really good performance and got the result. Then we did it again today.”
Millwall’s win over Boro wasn’t without its challenges, especially in the opening 45 minutes.
“It was a bit of a sticky first half, but that’s the Championship,” Honeyman said. “Similar to the previous two games, but we hung in there. The second half, we pretty much dominated. They didn’t really create anything until the last minute. It’s a nice thing to be part of, really.”
Looking ahead to the Easter weekend that sees the team play twice in four days, Honeyman remains grounded despite the increasing optimism from the club’s fanbase.
“It’s no different to playing Saturday-Tuesday — we’ve got used to that. I know it’s an earlier game on Monday, but it’s not something we aren’t used to,” he said.
“It’s exciting. It’s been a bit of a weird week — done so well and not really moved in the table. It’s the Championship, isn’t it? Everyone is playing for something at this time of year. We just need to keep taking it one game at a time.”
He added: “We are enjoying playing good football and being part of a winning team. You don’t get any better feeling in football than that — that’s what we’ve been able to do this week and quite a lot this season.
“We almost made a joke at the start — ‘If we win this one, are we in the play-off race?’ — and now it’s probably becoming a reality. But ultimately it’s still out of our hands. We don’t feel too much pressure. We want to go and win the next game and see where it takes us. If we keep taking care of business, you’d like to think we’ll have a chance.”
Millwall’s resilience has been a key theme throughout the campaign.
“Apart from the weird result that was Plymouth away, we’ve been in every game, usually only losing by one goal,” Honeyman noted.
“We’ve been solid all year. Since I’ve been here, we’ve had boys at the back and a team that is gritty. We can stay in a game and we don’t generally roll over very much — that’s a Millwall characteristic and something the manager drives into us every day in training.”
PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD