Millwall boss explains why he made striker switch at half-time in FA Cup tie against Sheffield United

Millwall manager Gary Rowett confirmed Tom Bradshaw’s half-time withdrawal in today’s FA Cup defeat was purely tactical.

The Lions striker was replaced at half-time by club record signing Zian Flemming.

The switch saw Andreas Voglsammer move into the most advanced attacking role.

Millwall terminated the contract of frontman Benik Afobe by mutual consent earlier this week ahead of a switch to Dubai-based Hatta Club.

The Lions lost 2-0 to Sheffield United in their third round tie in SE16

“It’s not ideal to go into a game that way but Bradders, at the moment, is our only main striker,” Rowett told the South London Press after ending any fears the Lions’ number nine had a knock.

“It was a situation where I just couldn’t afford to lose him for any reason.

“We didn’t think it massively weakened us because we could shuffle it around a little bit. Again not ideal. It’s the same reason I didn’t start Zian and Paul [Heckingbottom] didn’t start [Sander] Berge.

“It’s one of those where you can to be competitive but you don’t want to risk some of your players that you can’t afford to live without.

“We only made four changes and all of those have played regular football for us this year. I expected a better performance, certainly first half.”