‘Slow burner’ – Millwall head coach’s satisfaction at home form

Millwall head coach Alex Neil has underlined the significance of their recent home form and highlighted the strong relationship between players and fans as the South Londoners continue their pursuit of a Championship play-off spot.

Speaking after the Lions’ fourth consecutive home win, a 3-1 success over Norwich City on Easter Monday, Neil praised the togetherness in the squad and the momentum building at The Den.

“The teams we are facing at the moment—Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Norwich—they are tough teams to beat,” said Neil. “We are going into each game, attacking it as if it’s our last game, trying to win it, putting everything we can into it and seeing where it takes us at the end of it.”

While Millwall’s away form improved quickly after Neil’s arrival, the head coach admits the turnaround at home took a little longer—but is now proving vital in their bid to finish in the top six.

“Home form, to get the fans onside, to get that belief is really important,” he explained. “That was something I spoke about when I first came here because, although we sorted the away form really quickly, the home form has been a little bit of a slow burner. But four home wins on the bounce, some really tough games that we’ve had here—it gets the fans right behind the players.

“There’s a great connection at the minute between the fans and the players and it’s something we want to maintain.”

Neil also praised the resilience shown by Chelsea loanee Zak Sturge, making his first start for the club.

“I hate not having balance in my backline,” admitted Neil. “He wasn’t ready for Blackburn—if he was, he would have started. So we had to go with a right-footed left-back, which is really difficult.

“He started a bit nervously, you could see it in the changing room, but it’s his first start.

“It’s a big milestone for these lads and the magnitude of the game—being at home, in such an important match—meant a lot. But how he went about it was great, and I was really pleased for him.”