Unwanted new conundrum for Millwall to contend with as their defensive solidity now in question

Millwall have evolved into a reputable Championship team during Gary Rowett’s tenure, but they have been plagued by a pretty obvious Achilles heel.

The South Londoners have consistently struggled to score goals – a problem that arguably predates the Lions’ present incumbent.

Millwall have flirted with the play-offs on a consistent basis since Rowett’s appointment but, more often than not, have found themselves outgunned by big-spending rivals in the upper echelons of the Championship.

It’s not exactly a well-kept secret that solving that issue would go a long way to providing the South Londoners with the platform they need to finally muscle their way into the top six.

However, that’s obviously far easier said than done – and just to complicate matters, the Lions now have a new conundrum to contend with.

The defensive solidity that has been the hallmark of Rowett’s side over the past three years appears to have eroded this season with only Hull City (13) shipping more goals than the 11 that Millwall have conceded in their seven league matches so far this term.

There are many mitigating factors that could be behind Millwall’s sudden defensive decline. Individually, it’s hard to argue that anybody has done themselves justice in the opening weeks of the season. The Lions’ performances have been littered with individual mistakes, while attempts to introduce an orthodox number 10 in a bid to boost the team’s attacking output has, perhaps, seen Millwall sacrifice some of their renowned stability.

But whatever the cause, it’s imperative that Millwall find a solution – and quickly. Talk of a crisis after just a handful of games is premature, but nobody will need telling that conceding soft goals and an inability to create anything cohesive at the other end of the pitch is a recipe for disaster.

As things stand, Millwall desperately need to dig out a clean sheet from somewhere, because their attempts to cook up clear-cut opportunities have not totally convinced in recent weeks.

Ironically, Burnley’s goals in midweek came at a time when the Lions had quietly wrestled the initiative away from their hosts after a relatively uneventful opening period. Goals from Vitinho and Jay Rodriguez condemned the Lions to another disappointing result on the road, but Zian Flemming had gone close to breaking the deadlock on two occasions prior to that with a tandem of speculative efforts.

The Dutchman was Millwall’s main bright spark on his first league start for the club since he made the switch to Bermondsey from Fortuna Sittard for a record fee in the summer.

Just how effective the Lions’ preferred shape will prove to be this term is likely to hinge heavily on Flemming. The Lions have needed a central player capable of conjuring up moments of quality in the final third for some time, and the early impressions are that the 24-year-old possesses both the quality and the confidence to feed the likes of Tom Bradshaw and Benik Afobe, who have been forced to feed off scraps in the opening weeks of the season.

But for Flemming to do so, the Lions have to show more self-belief and bravery on the ball to get themselves into better areas – something Rowett himself alluded to after the match.

Burnley passed their way through Millwall’s press with aplomb at times – nobody is expecting the Lions to match one of the league’s top tips for promotion technically, but their lack of composure on the ball has been another underlying reason for their early season struggles.

Millwall looked capable of causing Burnley problems when the ball was with players like Flemming and Andreas Voglsammer in the final third – that just didn’t occur anywhere near enough.

Far too often they and Bradshaw were forced to scurry after hopeful balls into the channel or watch as the ball bypassed them. The Lions are far better than that one-dimensional approach, but the onus is on them to show it on a consistent basis.

Over the past three years, Millwall have managed to make up for a dearth of creativity by grinding out results with their defensive resolve. But now the clean sheets have dried up, the Lions’ poor decision-making and attacking deficiencies have been magnified.

The focus in the early weeks of the season had been on ending Millwall’s away day blues. Tuesday night’s reverse means the Lions have now gone 10 games without a win on the road.

But right now, Millwall just need to get their act together in general if they are to realise their pre-season ambitions of challenging the Championship’s top-six.

Rowett hinted after the match that no option is off the table when it comes to trying to spark an improvement in form, including a potential change of shape.

But it shouldn’t be overlooked that the Lions boss has also been let down by key players who have simply not performed so far this term. Wing-backs are also crucial to Millwall’s current shape, but the likes of Scott Malone and Danny McNamara have majorly underwhelmed this term. Murray Wallace also failed to make much of an impact after being nudged further forward against the Clarets, while the Lions’ midfield duo of George Saville and Jamie Shackleton were overrun by their counterparts.

There are others who have failed to live up to expectations, too.

The Lions have firmly established themselves as a top-10 Championship side during Rowett’s tenure, and hopes were high that the South Londoners finally had the strength in depth to kick on this year – the onus is now on them to start showing why.

STAR MAN
Zian Flemming. Millwall’s club-record signing showed glimpses of his quality and already looks a cut above despite a dearth of first-team minutes.

BEST MOMENT
Andreas Voglsammer’s raking crossfield ball to tee up Flemming. The Dutchman was thwarted, but it was one of Millwall’s best moves.