‘My goal now is for us to get promoted’ – former Birmingham favourite Paul Robinson excited by Millwall’s play-off prospects

Millwall fans will be hoping to be singing at the Blues – rather than feeling that way – at St Andrew’s tomorrow.

It was a cracking Easter weekend for the Lions as they saw play-off rivals Blackburn, Middlesbrough and Coventry all slip up.

When you factor in a 2-1 victory over Hull City on Monday, it leaves the South Londoners just a point behind Sheffield United with three fixtures to play.

Lions legend Steve Morison can do his old club a favour as Cardiff travel to Bramall Lane tomorrow. And the Yorkshire outfit then go to QPR before hosting already-promoted Fulham.

Millwall’s finish, at least on paper, looks the more straightforward. First up is a Birmingham side poleaxed 6-1 at Blackpool last time out and then Peterborough in SE16. The Posh have to beat Forest this weekend to stand any chance of beating the drop.

This is a division that gives you a slap around the chops if you expect things to go to plan. But the Lions could be heading to Bournemouth on May 7 – the final day of the regulation campaign – with a play-off place in their grasp.

“My goal now is for us to get promoted,” Millwall first-team coach Paul Robinson, who played 175 matches for tomorrow’s opponents, told the South London Press. “We are in a great position.

“We’ll take each game as it comes but this is the business end of the season. We have got three games to go and we’ve got to give it our all. I believe if we do that then we can achieve getting in the play-offs. Then you never know what happens.

“We’ve still got to stay focused and not worry about what anyone else is doing. We can only concentrate on ourselves – how do we go about beating the opposition? Monday was an important win and the other results went in our favour.

“You have got to look at it now with real promise and a real buzz about the place. How many times do you get these opportunities and be so close?”

Robinson, 43, was a veteran of 762 first-team matches in a career that spanned more than two decades.

So what is the best approach when the stakes are high and the pressure seems to be dialled up after each fixture is ticked off?

“You have to stay focused and calm,” he said. “Don’t change anything about your game, believe in yourself as a player and keep trying to do the right things. Hopefully that will all fall into place.”

Only Fulham (43) have taken more points at home than Millwall (42) this season.

And so often it has been improved second-half displays, like it was as Scott Malone and Tom Bradshaw scored against Hull, that have got the job done.

“Over the last couple of weeks we’ve not really started very well – just a little bit loose in the first half and not full at it,” said Robinson.

“That little bit of luck always helps, when you look at the first goal – rebounding back off Scottie and going into the corner. You take those lucky breaks and go on from then. As soon as that went in we relaxed a little bit more and we played our game as a group of players

“Games at this stage are always tense, so it’s about having that composure and leadership on the pitch. They have got to take control because as coaches we can only do what we do on the grass at the training ground and it’s down to the players once they cross that white line.

“We’ll keep encouraging and staying positive with them. We need to start games putting a little bit more pressure on teams knowing they can’t handle us, because we do get stronger as the games go on.

“Players have to run and work hard as a team. Our best results have been when we have worked our socks off collectively as a team.”

Robinson played under Millwall boss Gary Rowett when he was Birmingham boss.

He was added to the Lions’ backroom team on July 1.

Rowett asked Robinson to watch some of their matches before he took on the job.

“I got to see what the players were about – they have got that togetherness and never-say-die attitude,” said Robinson. “Yes, you are going to go into some games that are not going to go for you, but they are going to give their all.

“There are probably a couple of performances over the season that we could honestly say ‘that wasn’t good enough and we didn’t give our all at the start’.

“We had a really sticky point where injuries hit us and Covid at the same time, but it shows that the squad are prepared to roll their sleeves up, even if some of them have not been involved as much as they would have liked to be. They were asked to come in and do a job and they’ve done it.”

Robinson returns to familiar surroundings tomorrow. He signed a one-month contract with Birmingham in September 2012 following his release by Leeds and ended up staying six campaigns.

“I went in there because there was an injury crisis under Lee Clark,” recalled Robinson.

“It was coming to the end of the month and I didn’t know if I was getting another contract or not – I was treating every game and training session like it was my last.

“Luckily for me the club gave me a year, then another year as we went along. I loved my time at Blues, it is a fantastic club and some great people work there.

“I had a great affinity with the fans because they understood what type of player I was. I wore my heart on my sleeve. When I look at Birmingham they are the same as Millwall – a working man’s club. You have to give your all.

“My goal was to play as long as I could, because I felt great. It was also about setting an example to the younger lads who were coming through as well. You’ve got to be that dedicated professional. I knew I wasn’t going to get as much game time as I got older but it was important for me to be that leader around the place.”

Robinson has aspirations to manage but for now is happy to learn off Rowett, who is a canny and experienced operator at Championship level.

“I was the club captain when he left [Birmingham] and we’d always stayed in contact,” said Robinson. “He knew I was working in the academy with the Blues, the U23s and then the U18s. I’m an ambitious guy and I wanted that first-team experience.

“An opportunity arose where he wanted another first-team coach to take the pressure off Ads [Adam Barrett], as well as himself.

“I knew it wasn’t going to happen straight away. I had to be patient. But as soon as the club agreed for Gary to bring in that extra body I was the first one he gave a call to.

“As a player you don’t get to see the work that goes on behind the scenes because you’re in a different environment and fully-focused on playing.

“Now it is learning about all the planning, what the week looks like in terms of sessions and how to talk to players. One day I’d like to go into that. At the moment it is about working my way up the ladder and doing the right things.

“I’m just taking baby steps to where I want to be. Picking Gary’s brains helps you develop those skills. I love working with Adam as well, he is a really good guy.”

Millwall’s determination, grit and resilience in a gruelling marathon of the football season could be rewarded.

The finishing line is in clear sight.

“Once the season is finished I’ll switch off and spend quality time with my family,” said Robinson. “I like my golf as well. We’ve booked a holiday in Portugal at the end of May, start of June.”

The Championship play-off final is May 29. Robinson, and Lions fans, will be hoping his clubs stay in the golf bag until at least then.