Millwall manager Gary Rowett has challenged his squad to fight for promotion to the Premier League this season, according to Southwark News.
The Lions achieved promotion to the Championship in 2017 and have since become one of the division’s staple teams. They have finished eighth in three of the past six seasons but talk of promotion to the Premier League has always been whispered rather than actively targeted.
The have made a steady start to the campaign this season, picking up 11 points in their opening eight fixtures, although have lost just one of their last five – a 3-0 home defeat against promotion favourites Leeds United. They host struggling Swansea City at the weekend as they look to return to winning ways following last weekend’s 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion.
Millwall have one of the smallest squads in the second tier and are unable to compete with the financial clout of the likes of Leicester City, Leeds and Southampton, but did enjoy a busy transfer window. Casper De Norre, Kevin Nisbet and Matija Sarkic all arrived in London for a fee, whilst former Rotherham United favourite Wes Harding was one of a handful of free transfers. Add to that the loan acquisitions of Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Allan Campbell and Ryan Longman, and Rowett has assembled a talented group of players.
Asked if he believes that this is the strongest squad he has worked with since arriving at the club in 2019, the 49-year-old said;
“It’s so hard to say. I’m happy with the squad, I think we have good options. If you probably [asked is the] eighteen players the strongest, deepest, best quality squad we’ve had, possibly. But I think we’re a little bit light this year than we have been in previous years just because you’re trying to squeeze the maximum out of what you’ve got. Sometimes that means bringing a few extra players in to maybe strengthen the squad but there’s a cost of that.
“I think we’re a squad that are trying to evolve in different ways but I think sometimes after last season we just needed to evolve in a slightly different way, that’s why the formation is the one we’ve chose for different reasons. To get an extra striker in, to get an extra attacking players in, to get a little bit more attacking players in the wing-back areas. But again, I think we’re pretty close to where we’ve been to most seasons at this point. Our challenge is to keep improving, that’s it.”
The Championship is arguably the strongest that it has been in years, but a surprise package often emerges, such as Luton Town last season. Millwall are not a team that are considered to be in the running for a promotion challenge, but Rowett has issued the challenge to his players nonetheless;
“It’s a tough division, it’s a tough division to get out of and it’s also – if you look at the teams that got out of the division – it’s also a lot tougher to stay in the one above. But yeah, that’s the challenge and that’s what the squad has got to take forward.”
Writer’s View
Rowett is 100% right in his assessment of the Championship – it is a tough division, arguably one of the toughest in Europe. However, we’ve seen over the years the number of teams which have defied the odds to reach the Premier League. The likes of Blackpool, Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth and latterly Luton Town have all achieved the seemingly impossible and there is no reason why Millwall can’t be next.
With that said, the teams competing for the promotion spots are better equipped to challenge for the top six, whilst the three teams that were relegated last season will all be there or thereabouts come May. Throw in the likes of Preston North End, Hull City, Sunderland and Norwich City, and top flight football will continue to remain a pipedream at The Den.
