‘You’ve got to be in it to win it’ – Millwall boss Gary Rowett knows all about the highs and lows the play-offs can bring

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Gary Rowett has been in the play-offs three times before and is ready to impart any of the wisdom gleaned from those experiences to his Millwall squad.

Monday’s Championship finish is going to be dramatic with no fewer than five clubs still in the mathematical hunt for the final two play-off positions.

But crucially it is the Lions who are sixth in the table and know that a win over Blackburn will assure them of extending their season.

Rowett’s Derby County side needed a final day win over Barnsley to finish in the top six in the 2017-18 campaign – one in which Neil Harris’ Millwall narrowly missed out – and delivered a 4-1 result. The Rams beat Fulham at Pride Park but Slavisa Jokanovic’s swashbuckling side won the reverse leg 2-0 at Craven Cottage.

The 49-year-old also led Burton Albion to the League Two play-offs in successive campaigns, losing in the semis to Bradford City in 2013 and then 1-0 to Fleetwood Town in the 2014 final at Wembley.

“We had to beat Barnsley, who needed to win to avoid relegation,” said Rowett, recalling his last big push to reach the Premier League. “I remember it was all-or-nothing on the last day, so it is a very similar situation but slightly different in terms of the position of the team we’re playing.

“This is not me saying I’ve got any formula, but I’ve seen these situations and I’ve seen how it works. I’ve seen how teams handle it. All you can do is try and pass that on to the players and use that experience to help them.

“They are great games to be involved in. Don’t get me wrong -they can be horrendous games to be part of as well. I’ve been in play-offs where I’ve won the first leg and lost the second leg – it’s a horrible, horrible feeling.

“But the phrase ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it’ has never been truer. We’ve got this far because we deserve to be in this position. The team has got to go and do what it has done for the best part of the season.

“You have to stay calm, you have to follow what we need to do and take the weight of the game off the players’ shoulders and get them in the frame of mind where they can go and enjoy it.

“You have to have an element of positivity in how you approach the game. It’s very easy to be slightly fearful of the game. What we tried to do against Blackpool was to try and shape the players’ mentality into one where we’ve got a brilliant opportunity, rather than it being something to worry about or be half-hearted about.

“It doesn’t guarantee anything that you’ve been there before, but it certainly helps you to understand what some players are going through.”

Rowett is in his third full campaign since succeeding Neil Harris at Millwall in October 2019.

The Lions have finished eighth, 11th and ninth during that period.

Monday’s match is a sellout. The atmosphere will be electric. The stakes – and the potential prize – is absolutely huge.

“It would’ve been lovely to be turning up not having to do anything because the top six is guaranteed but realistically it was never going to be quite that simple this season,” said Rowett. “We are going into the final game with it in our own hands. You almost have to put other results to one side now.

“Everyone should at least feel they have done a really good job to get this far. We’ve got to go and do what we did against Blackpool – try and enjoy the last day and know that it is a big game and a big opportunity. It will be a cracking atmosphere and the sort of game everyone should want to be involved in.

“Some players will be nervous and some won’t be nervous.”

Five points from a possible 21 had dropped Millwall out of the play-off places before the 3-2 victory at Blackpool a week ago.

“What I saw there was a team that realised you have got to attack the game and get on the front foot – you can’t wait for the game to happen,” said Rowett. “There was a big difference in the attitude and the way they went about it.

“We’ve got to do exactly the same thing at home which should, in theory, be a little bit easier to do but against a good side in Blackburn who are stronger opposition.

“I’ve been in these situations as a player and as a manager. When you get out there and feel the atmosphere you have got to embrace those moments, because they don’t come along very often.

“You’ve got to remember it has taken 45 games and a hell of a lot of hard work to get to this last one. That’s not including pre-season and all the planning and organisation that has gone in.

“This is about enjoying the fruits of your labour.”