Millwall midfielder Shaun Williams: Wood should have been sent off
Shaun Williams echoed Millwall manager Neil Harris’ claim that Rotherham skipper Richard Wood deserved to be sent off in Saturday’s 0-0 draw.
The Millers defender was only shown a yellow card for a 58th-minute leap into Jordan Archer as the goalkeeper claimed a loose ball in the home penalty area.
Players from both sides instantly waded in before order was restored. Archer needed treatment before being able to continue.
Williams said: “I think he should’ve been sent off – Jordan’s caught it.
“I know it’s [happened in] a split second, but he knew it was going into his arms and he still jumped towards him.
“It looked like he jumped on his face.
“When I saw it I thought he [Wood] was never going to get it, because the ball was practically in his hands. As Wood said himself, he wouldn’t have been happy either if it had been the other way around. He kind of knew it wasn’t right.”
Millwall have lost just once since December 22.
But Williams, one of the most experienced players at the club, rejected any suggestion that facing Rotherham was a difficult comedown after dumping Everton out of the FA Cup the weekend before.
“The dressing room we have means we don’t get carried away and ahead of ourselves,” he said. “We just look to put on a performance in the next game.
“It was probably two points lost, with the [Lee Gregory] chance at the end, but we can build on a clean sheet.
“It was a scrappy game. There was no quality in it, barring set-plays. It was frustrating overall.
“I thought the back four and the goalkeeper were commanding today [Saturday]. We need to create more chances than we did.”
“They are a difficult team to play against, a lot of big players – they had a centre-half in midfield. I felt like they came for a point.
“You might only need one chance to score. On another day, like last week, we scored from three set-pieces. We’ll keep working on it.”
Williams is enjoying playing in a midfield three in the last three matches.
“It’s good,” he said. “Not against Rotherham, because we couldn’t really pass it around.
“It’s more compact in the middle and you’ve got more options to pass it – instead of looking for a direct approach. I’m thoroughly enjoying it.”