BILLY Mitchell has an old head on young shoulders so he was never going to get too disheartened by Millwall’s deflating start to the season.
After a summer of much promise in the transfer window, and much hope that this was the season they were best prepared to finally break into the top six, they were nineteenth after nine games.
Equally, Mitchell, 20, is not going to get carried away after two wins extended the unbeaten run to seven and lifted the Lions to within three points of sixth.
“They were much-needed. The team felt perhaps performances had justified some better results,” Mitchell NewsAtDen.
“The Championship is a tough league and we were struggling down there, points-wise. But those two good results gave everybody the lift going into the international break that we needed.
“Hopefully now we come off it in the same vein of form.
“I would say that having played a few games and being around the lads you have to try and maintain a pretty level head. The old saying, ‘don’t get too high when you win, don’t get too low when you lose’.
“Ultimately we felt like we were playing okay but perhaps at 70, 80 per cent of our capacity.
“The gaffer challenged us to have that extra quality, find that extra ten, 20 per cent and we got those two wins.
“We still feel there’s more to come but it’s a step in the right direction.”
While footballers at Championship level are well-rewarded financially, there is always that little extra enticement that can be offered to them.
And boss Gary Rowett’s promise perhaps played some part in the results in the last two games.
“It was quite nice. The gaffer had given us a bit of a carrot that per game we won, that was one extra day off in the international break,” Mitchell explains.
“We won two. Whether that had something to do with it I don’t know!
“We all went off and did our things. For some of the players with wives and kids that meant some nice family time. Some players might have gone away for a short break.
“But the sports science department did send us out some maintenance sessions so we all had to do a little bit of running just to keep in shape.”
It has been a relentless start to the season, with three EFL Cup games and two international breaks meaning the Lions had six midweek fixtures in less than two months.
But Mitchell stresses it’s important to recognise the “perspective” around the intense schedule.
“I think you have to try and view that as a positive thing,” he says. “If you’re getting good results then great because you’ve got another game and you can try and carry that momentum.
“If you’re not getting good results then you say to yourself we’ve got another game coming up to analyse the previous performance and rectify some mistakes for next time.
“I think it’s all about perspective.
“The beginning of the season was disappointing for us because we conceded more goals from set-pieces in the first few games than maybe in the whole of the previous season. And normally our defensive record is something we pride ourselves on.
“I think also, draws are not necessarily bad results in the Championship. It’s other results around them that dictate how you look at them.
“Draws mixed in with a lot of losses all of a sudden put you in a really bad mood. But if you add a couple of wins then those draws suddenly look like good results.
“A lot of the boys have a lot more experience than I have in this league and they recognise how quickly things can change.
“We’ve had two wins and all of a sudden it shoots us up four or five places in the league and the table looks a lot prettier than what it did before those two games.
“You have to realise you’re never further than a good couple of results away from putting yourself back in contention.
“We can take peace of mind from that. You just have to make sure you attack every game with the same positive mentality.”
Mitchell has played right wing-back a number of times this season. He’s a natural midfielder and that’s where ultimately he wants to become a regular for Millwall.
But he recognises how valuable that different tactical and physical experience is playing on the right side of a back five.
“We’ve got a few versatile players in the team, like Ryan Leonard. We joke that in training he puts a bib on and plays literally every position,” Mitchell says.
“I really enjoyed it. I wanted to get into the team by any means necessary. I hope that in the future that will be in central midfield because that’s where I feel I’m at my best, it’s the position that I prefer.
“But I have enjoyed my time at right wing-back, it was nice to get more games under my belt.
“It’s very different to midfield because obviously all the play is in front and to the left of you. So in some ways it’s a little bit easier.
“I found it very physically challenging. Midfield is a lot of continuous running and changing of direction, whereas at right wing-back you can be doing very little but then you’re bombing up and down. That took it out of me physically but it’s always good to add another string to your bow.
“You realise that no matter what position you’re playing in it’s the same: You have a battle against your opposite number, same at right wing-back, midfield, centre-back, centre-forward.
“I just said to myself I just wanted to get the better of that player up against me and hopefully I managed to do that a few times.
“It has been a good experience.”
Image: Millwall FC