“We need to believe we’re a good side” – Millwall boss has message for his players + felt officials didn’t help cause at Vicarage Road

BY KAI BENNETT

Millwall manager Gary Rowett wants his players to back their ability more, but also felt his side “didn’t get an awful lot of help from the officials” in today’s 1-0 loss at Watford.

Ismaila Sarr’s 11th-minute penalty condemned the Lions to back-to-back defeats.

The result leaves Millwall in eleventh but Rowett felt aggrieved to come away with nothing from Vicarage Road.

Speaking to Millwall’s club website, he said: “We need to believe, we’re a good side. Sometimes this season, I think I believe we are a better side than the players believe we are sometimes. That’s something we have to get better at, we have to have a little more confidence.

“Early on in the game, the likes of Billy [Mitchell] needs to go and get on the ball, give an option. We played a bit too safe early on in the game. That made it difficult for the back three to find the midfielders, to bounce it out to the wing-backs and then get it in to forward areas.

“When we did [play with belief] we looked dangerous.

“We didn’t get an awful lot of help from the officials. There was one time when the ball came in the box and Coops has a player grabbing him with both arms around him, but as soon as there is contact Watford get a free-kick. I’m disappointed about those aspects. Watford are too good a side to need any real help along the way.”