Millwall boss: Fans being back is the most exciting thing about the 2021-22 Championship season

Gary Rowett has been left happy with Millwall having a rare Boxing Day fixture at home – but admits the biggest thing he is looking forward to in the 2021-22 Championship season is the return of fans to The Den.

The schedule was released on Thursday and the Lions start with a trip to QPR.

Rangers were third in the form guide for the last 10 matches of the previous season, taking 19 points.

“They finished well and we’ve had some pretty eventful games over at QPR,” said Millwall boss Rowett. “Last season we were 2-0 up and they scored late on to win the game. The game previous to that one ended up 4-3. They are always pretty exciting.

“Of course we want to start the season with a bit more of a positive result than that.

“They are a good side but they’ll be looking at us thinking that will be a difficult game.

“Whether we play someone first, sixth or 10th it is neither here nor there, we just have to focus on starting the season well and maintaining consistency over a long period.

“You look at the start, the first three or four, and the last three or four – because they are important parts of the season. How do you start and how do you end up? If you’re in the mix, what does your run-in look like?

“You usually go to the key dates, like Boxing Day. It feels nice to finally have a home fixture and not have to go all the way to Bournemouth or Cardiff. Unfortunately Swansea have that issue on Christmas Day.

“Of course I look for my old clubs – when do we go to Birmingham, Derby and Stoke? Those ones have meaning to me.

“The rest just merges in. People say ‘that’s a good run for you’ but it never works out like that. Often you play the more fancied teams and end up performing better against those.

“We’re having a new pitch laid, so it will be interesting to see how that feels. But having fans back, hopefully for the first month, is the biggest thing. No matter who we play, if the fans are there then that is good news. The are usually in good voice and it is going to be an intimidating afternoon and great atmosphere.

“I’m looking forward to the season. We’ve had a decent break and we’ve had virtually no fans in for 18 months. Everybody is excited for this season, regardless of how fixtures fall.”