Millwall defender on avoiding watching Championship play-off final, the passing of owner John Berylson and expectation of another promotion attempt

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Jake Cooper is a veteran of gearing up for a new Championship campaign but the big defender is hoping this will be the final one before Millwall realise their Premier League goal.

The former Reading centre-back has been a mainstay of the Lions side since they won promotion from League One in 2017.

This will be Cooper’s seventh season in English football’s second tier and he has made 302 appearances at that level.

The pain of missing out on the play-offs last time around ensured that Cooper made sure he was busy when Luton faced Coventry for a place in the Premier League.

“I watched the League One final – I was more invested in that,” said Cooper. “I didn’t want to watch the Championship one. Luton were very, very strong – one of the best teams we played all season.

“Hats off to them. They did an amazing job and it is great to see a club like them in the top flight.

“We gave it our best shot and we weren’t good enough in the end. We had to swallow that pill and move on. We have brought in some good players, the gaffer has said we’re going to get better and try to improve.”

Charlton fans at Tuesday’s friendly baited their South London rivals for letting a 3-1 lead slip against Blackburn in May.

Rovers hit back in the second half to win 4-3 and that result saw Millwall slip out of the top six on the final weekend.

“As a team we all split up after that game and went our own ways,” said Cooper, who has 12 months to run on his contract but has been in talks over an extension.

“It was down to people to individually reflect. We missed out on some vital points in the last month or so and that is the crunch point. You look at the Wigan away game and Huddersfield at home – even if we had taken two points from them it would have made the difference.

“We needed to play those like we weren’t desperate to win. We need to try and use that experience moving forward.”

Cooper is one of the longest-serving members of Gary Rowett’s squad. He and Shaun Hutchinson are the only players left that featured in the 1-0 win over Bradford at Wembley.

Cooper says it was a “big shock” when he was told about the death of Lions owner John Berylson earlier this month while the squad were on a training camp in Spain.

“The first thing I did was ring Jed [Wallace],” he added. “John was amazing for us. He was charismatic and he brought energy to the group when he came in to talk to us.

“I like my ice hockey and we used to talk about the Boston Bruins.

“He is missed massively and it is strange that the club isn’t run by him anymore.”

Cooper laid a floral tribute in front of the travelling Millwall fans at Gillingham. Rowett and Neil Harris, a Lions legend, initially carried it out to the centre circle.

“It was amazing to be a part of that and I look forward to the Bristol City game (where the club’s main tribute to Berylson will take place),” said Cooper. “That is going to be some atmosphere.

“I’m sure John is going to get an amazing send off. Hopefully we can produce and keep this club going in the direction he wanted it to.”

Talking about Millwall’s promotion prospects is no longer seen as overstepping the mark.

The 2022-23 season was the first where players openly expressed it as a target.

“You can’t avoid saying it,” added Cooper. “You look at where we have finished the last three or four years. That is the expectation from the fans, the players and what the manager has to instil for the club.

“We can’t move forward without finishing top six now.

“We start on a blank again and see what we can do.”

PICTURES: BRIAN TONKS AND KEITH GILLARD