Millwall ought to have “zero fear” as the race for promotion from the Championship heats up, says boss Alex Neil.
The Lions are the league’s shock bundle, sitting third with 4 video games to play, and can go second with victory over QPR on Saturday lunchtime, reside on Sky Sports+, forward of Ipswich’s showdown with Middlesbrough on Sunday.
They can even seal a play-off place in the event that they win and Wrexham fail to beat Stoke.
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But Millwall have been on a rollercoaster in latest weeks, transferring up into the automatic promotion places for the primary time with a win at promotion rivals Middlesbrough, earlier than defeat at residence to Norwich and a draw at West Brom noticed Ipswich take the initiative within the chase to be a part of Coventry within the prime two.
However, there was one other twist on Tuesday, with Ipswich – who’ve a sport in hand – surprisingly crushed at Portsmouth.
That is a outcome which has “left things quite open for everyone”, says Neil, however he’s urging Millwall’s gamers not to be overwhelmed by the strain and as an alternative benefit from the state of affairs, given the membership have been final within the Championship play-offs in 2002.
“You never know when this opportunity is going to come back round again. Don’t be a passenger and let it pass by you,” stated Neil when requested what his message to his gamers is. “Make certain that you simply take pleasure in each second of it and give it your finest shot.
“From our perspective, we should have zero fear. We should embrace the situation and give everything we’ve got and see where that takes us.”
There has been focus within the Premier League on Arsenal’s nerves as they struggle to safe their first title in over 20 years and Neil admitted some “tension” had crept into his workforce’s efficiency on the Hawthorns final week.
Speaking concerning the mentality required to recover from the road, Neil – who has steered Norwich and Sunderland to play-off promotions – stated: “Keeping a fire in your belly but a cool head when it matters most can determine key moments in games and no more so than at the business end of the season when you need to find a way to be effective and to win.”
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between West Brom and Millwall
Amid discussions among the many Millwall fanbase on whether or not they may obtain automatic promotion or have to settle for the play-offs, Neil can be eager to hold the membership’s place in context, stating his workforce have “given Millwall fans one of the best seasons they’ve had in decades”.
He stated: “At the start of the season, if I said to anyone that we would get into the play-offs, everyone would be absolutely buzzing because that’s been an aim we’ve wanted to try to achieve for the club for such a long period of time.
“Now, does it imply that we’re happy with that? Absolutely not. And I feel that is the place we want to get a little bit of perspective on issues.
“Do we want to try and go up automatically? Of course we do. Who wouldn’t?
“But would we be dissatisfied with the play-offs? Absolutely 100 per cent not, as a result of it provides us a chance to see the place we are able to go in that and combat our nook and hopefully produce some sturdy performances and strive and win some extra video games.
“So, as far as we’re concerned, we’re in a really good spot.”
