Millwall boss Rowett knew 0-0 at Birmingham was ‘no classic’ and explained their pressing tactics

Gary Rowett bemoaned Millwall’s inability to take their chances after stifling Birmingham in Wednesday night’s 0-0 stalemate.

The Blues had been in impressive form and were unbeaten in five prior to the match in midweek. John Eustace’s side clashed with the Lions after putting the Championship’s early pacesetters QPR to the sword last Friday night, but they struggled to lay a glove on Millwall.

And while Rowett was pleased with how his side nullified their hosts and conjured up chances of their own, the Lions were unable to beat John Ruddy in the home goal.

“You’re playing against a team that are 5-3-2, they’ve got a lot of energy in midfield with their three,” said the Lions chief.

“We had a lot of ball with our full-backs, but it’s then hard to find space. They don’t give much space away, and on the flip side, I felt we dealt with their two number eights because they’re very bright, very lively and keep running into that space. If you press too high, they keep pressing into those outside spaces.

“One or two times they did, they got a free-kick in the second half where Chong gets away from our players on the edge of the box.

“There were some good moments. It wasn’t a classic to watch, I understand, but we’re the away team – it’s not our job to make it a great game to watch. It’s our job to stop Birmingham from playing and see if we can create opportunities.

“We did, but we couldn’t quite take them.”