dailyloe.com – Millwall can go back into the automatic promotion places in the Championship with a positive result on Friday night. A first-ever promotion to the Premier League is in their sights. A Championship play-off spot is already secured. An automatic promotion place remains within their grasp.
They will go second with a win or draw at Leicester on Friday night, live on Sky Sports. This puts the pressure back on promotion rivals Ipswich. Ipswich currently hold that position on goal difference. They also have a game in hand over the Lions.
The Tractor Boys, though, face a trickier run-in on paper. Millwall have a lower mid-table budget and wage bill. So how have they got themselves into this lofty position? We pick out five factors driving them upwards.
Any assessment of Millwall’s progress must start with the manager. There has been financial support from chairman James Berylson. Director of football Steve Gallen has led a successful recruitment campaign in recent windows. But Neil has pulled it all together and created a team to be reckoned with.
At the business end of this season, his experience has been key. With three successful play-off campaigns under his belt, he has been able to manage the mentality of a group of players. These campaigns were in Scotland, League One and the Championship. The players are largely unfamiliar with what it takes to make this next step.
Millwall’s squad only has a combined 228 Premier League appearances. Only four players have played more than 30 times in the top flight. In contrast, Friday’s opponents, Leicester, have a squad with 1,770 Premier League appearances between them.
“I never encourage the players to read and listen to what people say,” Neil says about keeping the team grounded. “We only focus on what’s in front of us. We don’t get carried away with anything.” But their success is no surprise to him.
“I understand how important it is to the club,” he says. “I understand how important it is to the fans, it’s certainly important to me, it’s important to the players. But when you work every single day, every single minute to get somewhere, you don’t sit there as if you’ve won the lottery, because it’s not fortune, it’s hard graft every single day for every single person at the club.”
