Millwall assistant boss Davidson has been a cup winner – but admits to a poor record as a player in the FA Cup

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Callum Davidson is a big fan of the FA Cup – even if his own record in it was an unremarkable one.

You would expect the Millwall assistant manager to have at least one tale when you consider he played more than 300 matches for Blackburn, Leicester and Preston.

But Davidson’s taste of success came north of the border when he was working as number two to Tommy Wright at St Johnstone.

The Saints won the Scottish Cup in 2014 with a 2-0 victory over Dundee United at Celtic Park.

“There aren’t as many teams – so you’ve got a better chance of succeeding,” said Davidson. “It was pretty special.

“You can get to the quarter-finals or semi-finals pretty quickly, especially if you’re a team in the Premier League.

“You’ve always got a chance. Down here it’s a lot harder with the amount of top teams. Up there you want to avoid Celtic and Rangers until the final – or just full stop.”

Millwall’s turnaround in league form means that the Championship play-offs can’t be dismissed as a tangible target.

The Lions are eighth – two points behind sixth-placed Preston. But Davidson, 43, does not see tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Sheffield United as a hindrance.

“It is really important,” he said. “The more you win, the more important it becomes.

“It doesn’t help your fixtures – they probably get clogged up with replays. We have a small squad here, which is a great thing but can also be detrimental if you go further in the cup. But ultimately it’s a great chance for one or two players who haven’t played regularly to get a game.

“We try and use our squad. I wouldn’t call it rotation but there will be guys who haven’t got a full 90 minutes who will get that on Saturday.

“It’s important for them and for us  on the financial side. Getting to the latter stages is good profile for Millwall and the players.”

One of the tactical switches that has worked so well for Millwall is a switch to three centre-backs – particularly for away fixtures.

Boss Gary Rowett has gone with a 5-2-3 formation but did opt for 4-4-2 in Saturday’s impressive 2-0 victory over Reading. Davidson admits the way Sheffield United played with three centre-backs as they won promotion to the Premier League last season was something Rowett pondered on as he waited for  another managerial chance.

“You’ve got to get in and see the group of players you’ve got first and foremost,” said Davidson. “We’d always looked at the front three – can you get your best players playing higher up the pitch?

“Sheffield United and Wolves got promoted to the Premier League playing a back three, so there is something there. It is possible to get promoted playing that system. I think you’d be stupid not to look at it. We played against them last year, so we know how they play. That unique style with the three centre-halves – they bomb forwards and overlap the wing-backs.

“They’ve been fantastic this season. They went up playing a certain style of football and they’ve kept doing that – it’s been great to watch.

“He [Chris Wilder, Sheffield United manager] has a go. He’s found a way to play a back five in an attacking formation. It’s good to watch. I think he’ll make a few changes, but I’m not sure how many.”

Davidson left St Johnstone in June 2018 to become part of Rowett’s backroom team at Stoke – the duo lasting just seven months before the City hierarchy decided to make a change.

A short spell at Dunfermline followed until the end of the last campaign.

The pair struck it off almost instantly when they were at Leicester City.

Rowett’s nickname there was “Textbook”.

“We signed at the same time,” recalls Davidson. “Our families got on really well together. He was one full-back and I was the other full-back – we weren’t good enough to play anywhere else on the pitch.

“His nickname would tell you he’d go into management, no problem at all. He always studied things and how to do it right.

“I was in America and he asked me if I’d want to come with him to Stoke. It’s one of those things you don’t really talk about. If an opportunity arises then you say ‘yes’. It just happens.”

Millwall have lost just twice since Rowett and Davidson were appointed.

They look to have achieved job number one – consolidating Championship status.

“You’ve got to give all credit to the players from day one,” said Davidson. “Their attitude to work and to listening is second to none.

“The group we have here is desperate to win. That makes it easy for Gary and myself to get the messages across.

“We’ve been very fortunate with the results.

“The players are the ones who go out and perform consistently, as they have done for the 15 or 16 games we’ve been here.”

PICTURES BY BRIAN TONKS