Millwall manager Gary Rowett excited at facing Championship top two – Sheffield United and Burnley – in back-to-back Den assignments

Millwall manager Gary Rowett is embracing the challenge of facing Championship high-fliers Sheffield United and Burnley at The Den.

The Lions face United on Saturday before following up with league leaders Burnley on Tuesday evening.

The Blades lost 3-1 against Middlesbrough on Wednesday, their first reverse since November 8.

Both United and Burnley have opened up a gap on the clubs below but Boro, flying under Michael Carrick, look the most likely to mount a challenge to drag one of them out.

Saturday’s visitors look the most likely with the gap to the Teessiders down to seven points, although Paul Heckingbottom’s side have a fixture in hand.

Burnley have scored the most goals in the Championship (62) and boast the joint-best defensive record (27).

Rowett told the South London Press: “You can look at it and go ‘oh, those are hard games’ or you can look at it and go ‘bring them on’. They are the sort of challenges you want as a team, these are the sort of matches you want at home. They are the sort of games that our fans will certainly get up for and get behind the team.

“Alternatively you have got to be at your very, very best. It’s the same old scenario for these type of games – but when is that ever not the scenario? You go to Coventry, who have won something like one in eight or nine games, and you don’t quite perform with the same energy and spark as you did at QPR and get beaten.

“It doesn’t matter who you play. We went to Huddersfield and didn’t quite perform with quite the right spark and got beaten. We went to Watford – nobody gives us a chance – and we beat them twice. It’s what you bring to the game, what mentality you bring, rather than who your opponents are and what do people think.

“You heard it mentioned in the press conference the other day that these are two ‘season-defining games’. They aren’t really, are they? They are the next two games. It sounds boring and a cliche, but that’s the mentality.

“We’ve got to go and do what we do at home and see where that takes us. I’m excited. I think the group will be. Let’s see if we can bounce back quickly.”