Millwall haven’t been in the top flight since 1990 but shrewd ownership by the Berylson family, smart recruitment led by Steve Gallen, and the experienced guiding hand of Alex Neil have the Lions on the cusp of a return – we asked Lucas Ball (@LucasBall2211) and William Scott (@WillScottSports) whether they’ll see it through.

How's the season been for Millwall?

WS: Unbelievable. Already the best season since 2001-02 when Mark McGhee led Tim Cahill, Steven Reid, Richard Sadlier, Sean Dyche et al to the play-offs.

After an early-season wobble, Millwall righted the ship in October (around the time they came to Loftus Road) and have been mostly very effective at generating results. There was a brief slowdown in December when all eight first-team midfielders were out, but once Neil’s lieutenants all came back (including boo-boy Josh Coburn, who has since silenced the doubters with eight goals in 16 games), they really turned on the afterburners. The Lions’ form since the New Year has been fantastic. At one point they had six wins in seven.

While obviously that wasn’t sustainable given their fixture list in March and April (Hull City, Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough(A), Derby County, Norwich City (H)) , the fact that they are on the verge of confirming the play-offs and are still in the top-two conversation is extraordinary, and a testament to how well all the decision-makers in the club have done.

There has been some recent disappointment with results and performances but it’s important to not lose track of how unprecedented it is for Millwall to be in the top six for most of the campaign. When the Lions came close in 17-18, 19-20, 22-23 and 24-25, it was mostly due to a late surge rather than consistent excellence. Even before Harris got them back up ten years ago, the Lions were yo-yoing between League One and Championship.

To see them go toe-to-toe with the best of the division all season has been truly remarkable.

LB: Generally, really good. I thought the league was really open this season and boldly predicted us to finish third, but to still be in with an (albeit small) chance at the top two at this stage is beyond what most of us thought could happen. We didn’t start brilliantly, especially at home, so things were a little nervy for a while early on but it’s turned into a very strong campaign and our best at this level for a long, long time. I think I was one the last time we reached the play-offs in the second tier - it’s been a while!

Millwall in the league so far…
Norwich 1-2 Millwall Sargent 55 – Neghli 51, Langstaff 83
Millwall 0-3 Boro Hackney 49, Jones 87, Burgzorg 90
Sheff Utd 0-1 Millwall Cundle 38
Millwall 0-2 Wrexham Moore 58, O’Brien 90
Charlton 1-1 Millwall Carey 40 – Bangura-Williams 88
Millwall 1-0 Watford Neghli 10
Swansea 1-1 Millwall Vipotnik 12 – Coburn 45
Millwall 0-4 Coventry Wright 29, 66, Simms 81, Kesler-Hayden 87
Millwall 3-0 West Brom Cooper 18, Azeez 56, Sturge 72
QPR 1-2 Millwall Burrell 85 – Azeez 36, Ivanovic 45
Millwall 2-0 Stoke Azeez 10, Crama 21
Millwall 1-0 Leicester Azeez 44
Oxford 2-2 Millwall Brannagan 45, Placheta 90 – Ballo 11, Cooper 66
Birmingham 4-0 Millwall Seung-Ho, Gray 45, Cochrane 49, Stansfield 66
Millwall 1-1 Preston Ivanovic 36 – Smith 15
Portsmouth 3-1 Millwall Swanson 22, Segecic 51, Williams 89 – Ivanovic 72
Millwall 1-0 Sheff Wed Azeez 71
Millwall 3-2 Southampton Azeez 72, Taylor 81, Crama 90 – Armstrong pen 55, Azaz 87
Bristol City 0-1 Millwall Ivanovic 59
Derby 1-1 Millwall Cooper og 88 – Clarke og 81
Millwall 1-3 Hull Emakhu 80 – Joseph 6, 13, McBurnie 88
Blackburn 2-0 Millwall Gudjohnsen 3, Ohashi 45
Millwall 0-0 Ipswich
Millwall 2-1 Bristol City Neghli 16, Langstaff 81 – Randell 49
Southampton 0-0 Millwall
Millwall 2-1 Swansea Ivanovic 39, Taylor 90 – Cabango 47
Watford 0-2 Millwall Azeez 69, Coburn 81
Coventry 2-1 Millwall Esse 11, Wright 78 – Ivanovic 29
Millwall 4-0 Charlton Ramsay og 7, Taylor 81, Cundle 90, Emakhu 90
Millwall 1-1 Sheff Utd Ivanovic 19 – Brooks 17
Wrexham 0-2 Millwall Cleworth og 59, Coburn 85
Sheff Wed 1-2 Millwall Lowe 60 – McGhee og 72, Langstaff 74
Millwall 1-3 Pompey De Norre 64 – Caballero 46, Swift 55, Pack 67
Millwall 3-0 Birmingham Azeez 25, Crama 31, Cooper 49
Preston 0-2 Millwall Leonard 29, Cundle 90
Hull 1-3 Millwall Gelhardt 18 – Cooper 14, Ivanovic 70, Coburn 78
Millwall 1-0 Derby Coburn 43
Millwall 1-2 Blackburn Cundle 54 – Jorgensen 80, 85
Ipswich 1-1 Millwall Clarke 41 – Coburn 50
Boro 1-2 Millwall Fry 26 – Coburn 59, 86
Millwall 1-2 Norwich Ivanovic 56 – Mattsson 62, Schwartau 76
West Brom 0-0 Millwall

What's the success been built on? Where does the credit go?

WS: Am I allowed to say everyone? The players on the pitch deserve a huge amount of credit for their brilliance this season. They have picked up some famous wins and staged numerous late comebacks to pick up valuable points. Several have taken huge leaps and are likely Premier-League bound (the right-hand side of Tristan Crama Femi Azeez the most obvious). Ably inculcated by the leaders in the dressing room, the culture is fantastic - Neil intimated that he can give them real dressing downs at half-time without any fear of sulks or disgruntled leaks to the press, and he gets a response out of them far more often than not.

Behind them, they have been put in a position to succeed. Director of football Steve Gallen has recruited fantastically, supported by an army of scouts and analysts, while Alex Neil has inculcated a real culture of fearlessness and bravery throughout the squad. Of course, tactically he gets it spot on most of the time, and has an agile mind capable of fixing things at half-time if it’s not working, as he has done several times over the past two months.

Chairman Jimmy Berylson is one of the most adored owners in the EFL - has shown tremendous willingness to put his hand in his pocket and fund whatever needed, even flights back to London after long away trips. He also put Millwall on the path they are on now, showing bravery to rip up the old hierarchy in 2024 and institute a new model of recruiting young talent.

In short, club’s success has been down to smart people making smart decisions and everyone pulling in the same direction.

LB: Our strong defensive record sets us up well most of the time. In Tristan Crama, Caleb Taylor and Jake Cooper, we’ve got a very strong defensive core, usually supplemented by Alfie Doughty or Zak Sturge on the left. Billy Mitchell in midfield has had a strong campaign, too, and we look a different team without him mopping up in front of the backline.

Josh Coburn, since his return from injury, has led the line very well but, in attack, the key man is clearly Femi Azeez. He’s one of the best wide men in the division and offers a lot of threat. He’s been kept quiet a little lately which has severely limited our creative capabilities against Norwich and West Brom, particularly.

Few wobbles of late, particularly at home, how's the mood ahead of our game on Saturday?

WS: There was a bit of frustration after the West Brom draw, especially with the performance. While Millwall should’ve won (Coburn has a strange tendency to score the screamers and miss the sitters), the second half left a lot to be desired. They just looked out of ideas, later turned out they were all running on fumes - four had to come off with cramp.

I think a good chunk of the wobbles can be attributed to tricky fixtures - going to Middlesbrough and Ipswich back-to-back is a daunting prospect then they happened to play Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion at the worst time possible.

Injuries haven’t helped either - Billy Mitchell and Alfie Doughty are two of the first names on the teamsheet, and as Millwall fans are important for the culture. Casper De Norre has only just come back from injury and had to play three games in eight days - he has not quite been his old self.

Of course, Sky’s meddling has also made the situation worse. Neil has talked to death about how playing before Ipswich and Boro has been to their detriment and was proved right again on the weekend, with fans proving to be far calmer after Wrexham and Boro lost. Millwall last had a Saturday 3pm kick-off in mid-March and won’t have another for the rest of the season. Their trip to the Hawthorns was brought forward and as mentioned the legginess was obvious.

After QPR, they’ve got to go to Stoke on Tuesday night then Leicester on Friday. Don’t know what they’re planning to do, but certainly less than ideal…

LB: I think before Ipswich’s loss in midweek, most people had resigned themselves to the fact that it would have to be the play-offs after the high of that win at Middlesbrough. The mood is a reflective one in some ways of how positive the season has been as a whole, but we now need to end strongly to either push for automatic promotion or go into the play-offs on a good run. We’ve a couple of players out injured still who could make a big difference if/when they return - namely Doughty and Mitchell.

Thoughts on Alex Neil's performance?

WS: Alex Neil just gets Millwall, the culture, what the fans respond to, the style of play The Den wants to see. Those core principles: organised, stubborn defending, nippy midfielders, quick wingers, physical strikers and size throughout the team has been built on and thoroughly modernised. Millwall are direct, aggressive in and out of possession and a nightmare in both boxes, but with a level of complexity that has outfoxed a lot of managers. There are strands of both Tony Pulis and Jurgen Klopp running throughout his approach.

He is both pragmatic and an ideologue. He is a natural risk-taker and that informs every part of his approach to games, especially against teams they’re supposedly unfavoured against. Millwall will press aggressively and look to go toe-to-toe with the high-spenders. If they’re losing, time to throw on more forwards and risk conceding, goal difference be damned. He is not a lunatic, however, and has been known to concede games, rest legs, take the long-term approach.

The way he sets up his team is heavily dictated by his squad’s strengths as well - there’s no playing sexy football for the sake of it and forcing square pegs into round holes. He builds his game model on what his players can and can’t do effectively. That game model is very obvious, both from an eye test and a brief scan of the various OPTA stats. They lead the league in percentage of passes sent forward, rank very highly in all manner of pressing, set-piece (for and against) and crossing statistics.

The squad were already well-built for it when Neil arrived 16 months ago and the reinforcements in the past two windows were brought in with that in mind.

Of course, Neil’s play-off pedigree is also worth a mention. The Scot has got three teams promoted that way in the past ten years. Here’s to hoping there’ll be a fourth soon.

LB: Very good. He gets the club, which isn’t always easy with us. A great appointment - admittedly one which I was a little apprehensive about at the time. A great motivator, he’s also been keen to make sure there’s a connection between the terraces and the team, which has always been so important for Millwall. We haven’t always got it right at home, and probably our style with this group is more suited to setting up away from home but I can’t have too many complaints. I like his general attitude of always trying to win games but that has also come at the cost of a couple of heavy defeats, particularly before Christmas.

We've been casting admiring glances at your recruitment in recent years, what's gone well and not so well on that front this year?

WS: I’ll start with the positives. Caleb Taylor was an absolute coup. Given the state West Brom are in, I’d imagine they’re feeling very foolish about letting him go. After initial concerns about his recovery pace, Taylor got his chance away at Fratton Park, and despite the whole team falling apart around him, acquitted himself well. Since then, he’s not been out the side and has formed a very effective partnership with Jake Cooper. Can’t imagine any striker is enthused about having to tussle with those two.

Josh Coburn has been excellent since joining permanently (the £5m figure thrown about includes a lot of promotion-related add-ons), as has Zak Sturge, both of whom were on loan last season. Max Crocombe was a very effective goalkeeper after signing as a number two (Steven Benda on the other hand, the less said about him the better), Derek Mazou-Sacko is a promising young French midfielder who has acquitted himself well, Alfie Doughty has real quality when fit, and is statistically one of the most creative players in the league.

Gallen said their bread and butter has been recruiting from League One and it has worked really well for them. Taylor, Tristan Crama and Femi Azeez were all snapped up after seasons in the third tier, and all three have been vital to the current play-off charge.

They sold well too: money finally came in for Zian Flemming, Tanganga sold on for a hefty fee to Sheffield United when he could’ve gone for far less (his release clause only applied to top flight clubs), Kevin Nisbet was shifted, club made money on Aidomo Emakhu, who Oxford fans are already despairing over.

The player trading model has worked really well - Millwall nearly made a profit last year via getting great deals for the likes of Romain Esse and Flemming, and they maintained that this season. It is a challenge to keep producing top talent, but they certainly have more £15m+ sales waiting in the wings (Ipswich tried to pry Femi Azeez away for over that figure on deadline day, which felt very cynical).

There have been a few misses. Few will be sorry to see the back of Benda, who was finally sent back to Fulham in January after shipping five at Burnley in the FA Cup. Not really anyone’s fault but Massimo Luongo looked great before doing his ACL at Loftus Road two months into the season.

The loans haven’t really worked out. Anthony Patterson has been a clear hit and made some outstanding saves in the past few months, but Thierno Ballo has been in and out of the team, Will Smallbone has barely played due to injury, Tom Watson has barely played and doesn’t seem to feature highly in the pecking order. Barry Bannan has been alright but not quite set the world alight as many expected when he first joined (has played some outrageous passes, though). Think there’s been a bit of a disconnect there - Neil played him as a ten where he loves picking up the ball centrally and creating, but Millwall’s midfielders aren’t really used to that and usually just play it out wide, so he would sort of drift through games looking a bit dissatisfied with how much of the ball he was getting. Has done alright as a six, but again, not set the world alight.

LB: Our January recruitment looked very good on paper but it hasn’t really worked for Tommy Watson, who we all expected to come in and make an impact. He’s looked a little boyish against men too often for my liking. Anthony Patterson has done well in goal and was a clear upgrade on Steven Benda (although a scarecrow would’ve been better than the latter), who was dropped unceremoniously after a terrible start. Max Crocombe did well in the interim but was clearly signed in the summer as a planned number two. Barry Bannan also hasn’t had a huge impact and has looked a bit of a luxury, which we can’t afford in terms of our press.

In terms of the summer recruitment, it’s looked good in fits and starts for the most part but the standout is probably Taylor, who was an excellent pick up from West Brom - I’m sure they would have loved to have had him this season. He heads and blocks absolutely everything and has popped up with some vital goals. Sturge has hit a bit of a blip recently but otherwise had a decent campaign as a youngster, Massimo Luongo was playing well before his injury at Loftus Road in the early stages of the season. Thierno Ballo came with weighty expectations but has failed to live up to them. The core of our best/most-used XI has certainly been players who were signed pre-last summer.

Summer Ins >>> Josh Coburn, 22, CF, Boro, £5m >>> Caleb Taylor, 22, CB, West Brom, £2m >>> Derek Mazou-Sacko, 20, CM, Rodez, £500k >>> Mass Luongo, 32, CM, Ipswich, Free >>> Max Crocombe, 31, GK, Burton, Free >>> Joel Coleman, 29, GK, Bolton, Free >>> Alfie Doughty, 25, LM, Luton, Undisclosed >>> Zak Sturge, 21, LB, Chelsea, Undisclosed >>> Steven Benda, 26, GK, Fulham, Loan >>> Will Smallbone, 25, CM, Southampton, Loan >>> Thierno Ballo, 23, LW, Wolfsberger, Loan

Winter Outs >>> Wes Harding, 29, CB, Plymouth, Loan >>> George Evans, 20, GK, Hartlepool, Loan >>> Kamarl Grant, 22, CB, Blackpool, Loan >>> Ajay Matthews, 19, CF, Orient, Loan

Player of the season candidates?

WS: Femi Azeez and Tristan Crama are the obvious ones. Azeez for his ingenuity, physicality, skill and confidence on the right wing. At one point a few weeks ago, he led Millwall in both goals and assists. Time and time again he has proven to be the difference maker in tight games, either producing a ridiculous cross, bit of skill or shot, to break the deadlock. When Millwall run out of ideas, they turn to him. His self-belief is so sky-high that I reckon every time he has a pop from outside the box, he thinks it’ll go in. Teams now put two on him to negate his threat. He’s certainly off to the Premier League this summer.

Crama probably will be as well. Again, just another physical monster, with a fantastic reading of the game and the ability to make the ball stick to his feet. Shifted out to right-back (Both of Millwall’s right-backs suffered season-ending injuries within five minutes) on his debut despite never playing the position, Crama was a revelation and somehow taken another step forward this season. He has taken to his new position so well that there is a gaping hole on the right when injuries or suspensions force Neil to shift him inside to centre-back.

There are a few other contenders. There’s swelling support for skipper Jake Cooper, who made his 400th appearance this season and is now in the top five in all-time appearances for the club. When most other fans think of Millwall, they tend to think of the giant centre-back, and he really does epitomise what the club is all about. Physical, strong, mentally resilient, surprisingly good on the ball, and a nightmare to mark at set-pieces. He has been consistently excellent this season and deserves a nod, even if he has not hit the highs of Crama or Azeez.

Camiel Neghli is another one. The former record signing was taking some serious heat online around October/November, but managed to win everyone back onside with a consistent run of good performances. The Dutchman took a bit of time to adapt from the Eredivisie (his first half-season was injury hit, his first season was basically the current one) but after getting to grips with the physicality has been undroppable.

He has everything a manager would want in a player - fabulous work ethic (Neil has mentioned he leads the squad in all manner of running stats), consistently available, tactically intelligent and flexible (by my count has played in five positions this season: across the front three, central midfield and left-back), coachable and has the sparkle of technical ability. He has pulled off some outrageous bits of trickery, including the first successful rabona I think The Den has ever seen. He has that bit of daring and quality that people wouldn’t really associate with Millwall midfielders, while doing the hard yards that people do expected from them. He just needs to add a few more goals and assists to his game to be in contention to win, but certainly a very successful season.

Josh Coburn also deserves a mention for his goals, as do the consistently excellent midfield pairing of Casper De Norre and Billy Mitchell, and Taylor at the back.

LB: Azeez is probably the obvious shout, while Crama has been very good until a recent poor run but for me, it’s Cooper. A man mountain, he’s a Millwall legend who keeps moving up the all-time appearance list and his leadership has grown ten-fold since when he first took the armband. He and Taylor/Crama have formed invaluable partnerships as he has done with so many good centre halves in his Millwall career - Byron Webster, Shaun Hutchinson, Alex Pearce, Japhet Tanganga to name a few. He’s also never won the player of the season award and it would be great to see him get his hands on it from the club after such a long time.

How do you see this season ending? Will you see this promotion through?

WS: I hope so. It’s hard to say yet. Unless Ipswich implode, it’s looking like the play-offs. I would not feel overly confident about taking on Southampton over two legs given the form they’re in, but would feel a lot better about Hull or Middlesbrough. Lions do control their own destiny - if they win their remaining games they’ll finish third. In all likelihood, Southampton will not finish sixth, so they can guarantee themselves an easier draw. If they can get through the semi-finals (they’ve lost at this stage the three times they’ve made the second-tier play-offs), then anything can happen at Wembley. I’m sure the higher-ups at the FA and Premier League will be watching it through their fingers…

LB: Southampton make me nervous. I can see them being in the top two for one day all season though, and it being the one that matters, if they carry on steamrolling teams like they have been. If we were to win all four, we’d have a good chance at autos nonetheless but our record is often better against top-half sides or those around us, and we play Stoke, Leicester and Oxford after Saturday.

The positive is, if Southampton steal second, we won’t have to face them in the play-offs. I’d fancy us against any of the others over two legs with a rocking Den behind us (hopefully in the second leg) and then Wembley is a place for winners and winners only. Our last couple will have knocked confidence but if we can get back to winning ways against QPR, I think we can go on a good run and see where we end up. Fingers crossed more than anything, it’s incredibly hard to call this year. Southampton and Ipswich are probably still the favourites to join Coventry.

Links >>> Millwall official website >>> South London Press — Local Paper >>> News at Den — Blog >>> North Stand Banter — Forum >>> News Shopper — Local Paper

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