Despite the Lions’ dismal run of play, MILLWALL head coach Joe Edwards declared he won’t allow his team to “sulk” or grow “divided.”
After losing 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday yesterday, Millwall’s season has spiraled out of control, with seven losses in eight games across all competitions and the club forced into a relegation struggle.
They will next play promotion-chasing Southampton, who are now just one point above the bottom three.
When asked how he and his team were learning despite the challenging form, Edwards responded, “It’s important.” The word “learning” has several interesting connotations.
“I know the kind of emotion and problems it brings because I’ve already gone through a relegation struggle in a different division, but every season, every squad, and every tale is a learning experience.
“I emphasize the importance of remaining united and demonstrating this oneness frequently. That’s the top priority, and I’ll always stick with this group of players because I have a lot of respect for them. I do know that no group of players and staff has ever been able to get themselves out of difficult situations by pouting or splitting.
“But it’s obvious that I have to work as hard as I can to maintain simplicity, a high degree of clarity in our goals, and higher performance levels.”
In addition, the Millwall manager discussed the next game against Southampton, saying that his team might still win despite their current state of play.
“It’s an extremely tough game,” he declared. I will say this, but I won’t start an official relegation battle: we’re definitely down that stretch of the league and getting closer to the point in the season where it matters to win.
“And having been there and experienced it previously, there’s no real benefit in getting sucked into the game of predicting the results and saying, ‘We should win this one, we won’t win that one,'” because you never know.
“We’ll head to Southampton with complete confidence, and who knows—after a game like [yesterday], which many people thought we “should win,” perhaps the pressure got to us a little and the day turned out to be challenging. Given the nature of football, that might be the tipping point. We’re not going there to bide our time till the next contest.
“Football serves those up, but we have to try and find some belief through what is an extremely difficult time. Football offers both the best and worst days of your life. The only way to get through these difficult times is to return on Monday, band together, and rise to the challenge of this Saturday and every one that comes after.
