Millwall boss outlines main challenge for squad ahead of clash against Neil Harris’ Cardiff City
Millwall are struggling to find the back of the net.
Gary Rowett says "We are all in the same position with problems off the field, so its down to the managers to get it right off the field."
By John Kelly
Monday November 9th, 2020
MILLWALL’S Gary Rowett admits the challenge over the international break is to find more creativity in the team – ahead of a clash with ex-Lions boss Neil Harris’ Cardiff City.
Millwall registered their third consecutive blank when they drew with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. The Lions have scored 10 goals in 11 Championship games this season.
Above the bottom three sides, only Middlesbrough, Luton, Birmingham and Nottingham Forest (each on nine) have scored fewer goals than the Lions.
GARY ROWLETT:
“It’s a concern for us and it was a concern last season. But I think what the Championship has shown this season is that teams are finding it harder to score goals,” Rowett said.
“I think before today a free-scoring team like Norwich had scored 12 goals and we’d scored 10. While we are disappointed, a lot of teams have found it quite difficult. A lot of matches have been a bit of a stalemate and quite hard.
“But we know what the Championshipip is like. Sometimes you have to score a set-piece or find a little bit of quality to break a dead game. Unfortunately at the moment we’ve just not managed to do that.
“It’s certainly going to have an effect when you play all those games, to ask players to be really sharp in the final-third positions and come up with that quality is slightly more of challenge than it would be if you were fresh and you had a week’s break.
“It’s the same for everyone and we’ve got to find a solution.”
"We are all in the same position with problems off the field, so its down to the managers to get it right off the field."
Rowett has two weeks to work with the members of the squad not called up for international duty before a reunion with Harris.
“I think [the break] does come at the perfect time, if I’m being honest,” Rowett said. “It’s been a tough period but the lads have got through it pretty well.
“Now we’ve got to re-group and see if we can come out of it with a little bit more creativity to our play at times.
We’re not a side that’s going to break things down with unbelievable football all the time. But we’ve got to find different ways to score and at the moment we’ve stopped doing that.”
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