‘We won’t be taking anything lightly’ – Millwall boss wants grounded approach to next season

Alex Neil insists Millwall must remain grounded heading into next season, despite narrowly missing out on the Championship play-offs following a 3-1 defeat at Burnley on the final day.

The Lions knew a win at Turf Moor could have secured a top-six finish, especially after Bristol City were held to a 2-2 draw by Preston. But despite taking an early lead, Millwall were undone by the Premier League-bound Clarets and finished eighth for the fourth time since returning to the second tier in 2017.

Asked whether he believed his side were well positioned to push on next season, head coach Neil responded cautiously. “I hope so. Listen, just because we have done well this year doesn’t mean we will do well next year – I’m fully aware of that.”

Reflecting on Millwall’s repeated near-misses, Neil pointed to the volatility of Championship football and stressed the need for continued improvement over the summer.

“When Millwall came up in their first year they finished eighth – the next year they finished 21st,” he said.

“Championship football does not determine anything just because you’ve done well for a spell — I’m fully aware of that. We will not be taking anything lightly.

“We will be trying to strengthen, trying to make sure we hit the ground running next year and hopefully we can build a bit of momentum. That has been a big part of the last 10 games – the momentum we’ve built, the belief we’ve built, the connection between the players and the fans. When you add all that together, it’s a recipe for success. But next year, that is all fresh again — and all bets are off at that stage. We need to do it again.”

Neil, who took charge at the end of December following Neil Harris’ departure, is looking forward to his first full pre-season with the squad.

He believes the foundation laid over the past few months provides a strong platform.

“The ideas — the lads have taken on quite quickly,” he said. “I don’t think that is going to make a huge difference in that respect, but what it will do is allow us to build a back catalogue of games that we can refer back to, and tactical tweaks that we might make — and because they’ve done it before, it becomes a bit more fluent adapting to that.

“All of those bits will certainly help. I think stronger connections with each other and relationships will help as well – and the start of that is in a really good place.”