‘That leaves you a bit vulnerable’ – Millwall defender Shaun Hutchinson on why clean sheet count is lower this season

Shaun Hutchinson revealed why he thinks Millwall have not kept as many clean sheets this season as they did last season.

The Lions kept their first shutout since their 1-0 victory against Coventry City on December 29 as they defeated West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Hutchinson told the South London Press: “We’re playing a bit more open this season, and we are trying to be a bit more expansive in how we are playing. That leaves you a bit vulnerable and open sometimes.

“Also just key parts of the game, key moments of the game, some players are maybe not doing their job at times, and game management. There’s a few different things. The team has changed a bit through Covid and there has never been a settled team really.

“It was a challenge we were expecting [marking new West Brom signing Andy Carroll]. It’s pretty obvious what they are going to come and do, they have been doing it all season and they’re very good at it.

“The boys battled really well. Especially Coops in the middle, he dominated the ball against Carroll every time it came forward. We looked solid again, which we’ve come away from recently.

“We matched them up, the aim was to deal with the forward balls and then get on the second balls and look to slide the balls in behind as we know how high their line is.

“We executed it quite well. There has to be more [clean sheets] and we all know that. It was good to get that today, and hopefully we can build on that.”