JED Wallace says Millwall fans have the right to express their frustration with the players – but the midfielder insists the squad’s character cannot be questioned.
Home supporters at The Den booed when the final whistle blew on the 2-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers last Saturday, a fifth league game without a win which has seen the Lions drop to sixteenth in the table.
That’s after a bright opening to the campaign when Neil Harris’ side took seven points from their first three games to raise expectations after a difficult battle against relegation in 2018-19.
Millwall have three more games before the next international break – away trips to Huddersfield and Luton followed by a home clash against Leeds – which could either lift or deepen the air of gloom currently around the side.
Wallace knows that the side haven’t been playing scintillating football, but stressed they have to get back to playing to their strengths.
“It doesn’t hurt because I understand, the punters pay their money,” Wallace said. “I’m a football fan myself. If I stopped playing football tomorrow I’d be going to games. I’d be supporting a team.
“I understand they’re frustrated and that’s because they care. But I think the fans know the players care as well.
“There have probably been Millwall teams over the years that have had their character questioned by people, but I certainly don’t feel like we’re one of those teams. The lads are pushing in the right direction and it’s just about cutting out silly mistakes, people finding that bit of form that they haven’t found yet.
“I have no doubt that we’re going to have an alright season.”
Harris appears to still be settling on his first-choice starting XI after recruiting eight players in the close season.
“It was a transitional summer,” Wallace continued. “Because we had a very good start, we took seven points from the first three games, everyone got a bit excited. But you’re not just going to turn up every week and win.
“I know it’s frustrating for the fans. I know we’re not a great watch at times, recently we’ve not been playing open, expansive football and scoring as many goals as we should. But we’ve had great success over the last four years at times and we’ve never really done that. We’ve got to play to our strengths.
“I always reference Burnley in the Premier League. They’re not going to play expansive football and play out from the back, because that’s not what suits them.
“We have a hardworking group, we look to get clean sheets and hurt people going the other way. If we cut out a couple of silly errors here and there then we’ll be good.”
Image: Millwall FC