Millwall captain Hutchinson: We’ve given very little away since going to a back four
Shaun Hutchinson was delighted with Millwall’s clean sheet in their 2-0 win against Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon.
A brace from Zian Flemming continued their excellent home record over the past couple of seasons.
The Lions kept a clean sheet against Boro, only their third of this campaign.
Hutchinson said: “We’ve talked about it all season, how we need to get back to the clean sheets and today we defended really well.
“Wins at the Den haven’t been that hard to come by, results have been decent, but it’s just the fact we kept a clean sheet and we looked solid.
“We gave them very little and that was really encouraging. We weren’t playing all that great in that formation [five at the back].
“It’s not to say we will never go back to it, but sometimes you need a little change to get everyone refreshed on a few different ideas.
“The two games we’ve gone to [a back four], we’ve given very little away so I’m sure the gaffer is positive about it.”
The South London club had 37 per cent possession against the Teesside outfit but Hutchinson believes it is what you do with the ball rather than how much of it you have.
He said: “If you look at the games we went 1-0 down, I bet you we’re really high in the possession this season more than any.
“If you score first it’s really difficult to break teams down and the teams that are scoring first seem to be winning.
“To get that first goal today was massive and once we got that goal, then the second, they didn’t really trouble us and we never really felt like conceding.”
Zian Flemming scored his fourth goal in four games and the Lions centre-back praised the Dutch attacking midfielder.
The 31-year-old: “He’s taken a little while to settle in but I wouldn’t say he’s struggled to settle in to the group, he fitted in straightaway with us.
“The way we play on the pitch, the Championship in general, it’s taken a little while but we’re starting to see now what a goal threat he is and the talent that he has.”