Alex Neil was one of the first to admit that result against Pompey was a reality check. A reminder that if you drop your levels just one bit in this league you will get punished.
What Millwall have done in recent years is not learn from those mistakes. Cast your mind back to March 2023, the Lions were looking set for the Championship play-offs. We all know how it ended but with that heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to Blackburn on the final day but it was a home defeat to Huddersfield Town that began the derailment of that campaign.
That defeat sparked a run of just two wins in their final eight games that went onto cost them a place in the play-offs.
The reason I mention this is because there was no reaction that season. Gary Rowett and his team were that rocked by that defeat that they failed to even score in four of their next five games.
After the defeat to Portsmouth, the response has been excellent.
Neil got his team selection and tactics spot on for the win over Birmingham on Wednesday and stuck with the same team for this weekend’s win at Preston. A win that means the Lions are at the time of writing just one point behind second placed Middlesbrough and within touching distance of the automatic promotion places.
The victory over Birmingham was one of the most professional performances I have seen from the team this season. There was no hangover, it was simply back to business and with full focus to win. The Lions boss has made it very clear his side will not dwell on defeats and will not get too high after winning.
The Lions remain the firm underdogs in this promotion fight, everyone, myself included expect Ipswich to go on and take that second automatic promotion spot behind Coventry. But, it’s worth saying that Town have to face both Middlesbrough and the Lions.
Millwall will go about their job in a professional manner, this year it all feels that bit different. They look a confident side, they are playing attractive football and they fully merit being in this position. There have been other pushes of course, you go back to 2023 and even last season, but, this year it feels like there is an expectation that this will happen rather than a hope it will happen.
The win at Preston oozed confidence and calmed nerves. Preston’s play-off charge has wilted in recent weeks but a result on Saturday would have put them back in the picture. The fact the Lions were able to go there and effectively ease past their opponents shows the level they are currently at.
Tougher tests will of course follow. Hull next weekend is again another huge game. The Tigers face a tough trip to Ipswich in the week whereas, it’s a clear week for Neil’s men. With Saturday’s clash being an early kick-off there is a real chance that by the time the Lions leave the MKM on Saturday they are in the automatic promotion places, at that point no one could argue with their prospects and that achieving a place in the play-offs, should be a minimum expectation.