‘Millwall have two of best defenders in Championship’ – a now former team-mate has lavish praise for Lions centre-backs

Jed Wallace has labelled Millwall duo Shaun Hutchinson and Murray Wallace as two of the best defenders in the Championship.

Both played a huge part as the Lions nearly made the play-offs – with Scotsman Wallace picking up Millwall’s Player Of The Season award.

“You only have to look at Shaun Hutchinson, I never see him hitting the list of best centre-halves – he’s easily in the top five centre-halves [in the division] and has been for the past five years,” said Wallace, who signed for West Brom earlier this summer. “I never hear his name.”

Wallace was talking at the Not Top 20 Pod live event in Leicester Square back in May.

“Murray Wallace has been by far our player of the season.

“If the other Wallace was half as good as him, Millwall might have got in the top six! He was as good as anyone in the league this year. He was brilliant.”

Wallace, still contracted to the Lions at the time, also voiced his affection for the South London club.

“I’ve been at Millwall six years now, which is probably rare in modern day football and I’ve stayed there a long time and I’ve always appreciated them taking me out of the freezer at Wolves when no one else would’ve really wanted me.

“I never lost sight of that and didn’t jump ship at the first chance. I’ve not thought about this much because I really believed that this season we were going to get in that top six and we would have had a chance and things would’ve taken care of themselves.

“They’ve [Millwall] been class the whole way through, never put any pressure on me – the manager has been top drawer and I’m a huge admirer of the chairman; he’s changed my life – for me, my kids and everyone. He’s a great man and Millwall are lucky to have him.

“Sometimes people think you want to move just to get an extra few quid on your pocket, it’s not like that for me because if it was I would be on a flight over to Istanbul [Wallace was linked with Beskitas] having lamb shish for breakfast every morning.

“I’ve never made it a secret to anyone that I want to have a chance to play in the Premier League. I was playing with one of my best friends Conor Coady. He was playing right-back for Wolves in a pre-season game against Port Vale and now he captains England. I believe I can do it, I want to play at the highest level I can.”