Lions supporters were not impressed after another underwhelming display
JOE Edwards says that Millwall fans have every right to express their anger at himself and his players as it’s a “hazard of the job”.
The Lions slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, their fourth loss in a row. They have now been left sitting just a point clear of Queens Park Rangers and Wednesday, both of whom are picking up form and have successful dragged Millwall into a relegation dogfight.
Furious fans booed at half-time and at full-time during the loss at The Den but did show their support in the second half when the ball was in play and the home side were trying to drag themselves back into the game.
Ultimately Millwall failed to get themselves out of jail after goals by Ike Ugbo and Anthony Musaba in the first half.
Asked whether the disgruntled crowd reaction was tough for the players, Edwards said: “It is but again unfortunately it’s one of the hazards of the job. You choose to put yourself out there and get to live the dream and play football in front of people. When it goes well and the people support you and you get a lot of adulation, it’s all great.
“But when you underperform and people feel like you let them down, they’ve got every right to voice and express that. And I think you can see it in our team that they’re playing with a lack of confidence and we continuously have these spells here at The Den, a place we want to make a fortress, we’re having moments when we’re going under a bit and we don’t react well and we have to face up to that and deal with it better.”
Millwall have now lost three of their past four home games in all competitions and have lost 10 games out of 18 in front of home fans this season.
Asked if the players felt more pressure playing at home, Edwards said: “I’ve not heard a player say we don’t like or we find it hard playing at home, I’ve not heard that.
“When we’ve had a tough week like we’ve had for the first two (games against Coventry City and Ipswich Town), when we’re coming to play Sheffield Wednesday at home on the Saturday to put it right, I did feel a feeling of belief and opportunity.
“I say this a lot about this group and I will stand by it. After a horrible night on Wednesday, I then spent Thursday and Friday with them and they get together and have a meeting themselves which was really productive, we have meetings together. There’s a lot of good intentions and the right things being said and actions that would give you the feeling that there’s a group that really believe in turning things around, but we’re not showing it on the pitch. It’s a simple as that.”
