BILLY Mitchell hopes he has given his manager Gary Rowett something to think about with his performance against Sheffield United on Saturday.
The Lions were beaten 2-0 by the Blades in the fourth-round FA Cup fixture at The Den, but Mitchell impressed on just his second senior home start.
With Shaun Williams returning from suspension against Sheffield Wednesday next weekend, and Ryan Leonard back in training, Mitchell’s chances of more first-team appearances could be limited.
He’s not ruling out a loan switch this month, but knows there is not much time for a deal to be struck.
“It’s a tough one. We’re coming towards the end of the month now, Willo is back after the Leeds game,” Mitchell said. “Ryan Leonard’s not far away from full fitness.
“I’d like to think based on my performances and training that I’ve given the gaffer something to think about.
“Although I’m younger than others I still want to try and push for a place in the team, but I understand that I’m relatively inexperienced.
“A loan could be a good option. It’s just going to depend on the timing, when they come back, what sort of loan deal I can get.
“I’m just going to have to play it by ear and see how it goes, but I’m happy at Millwall at the minute.
“It always helps when the manager has some belief in you. I’ve had quite a few conversations with the gaffer, and before the game himself and Adam Barrett told me just to try and relax, do what I’ve been doing in training. That kind of advice is invaluable.
“It’s tough when you walk out in front of a big crowd, something I’ve not experienced too many times before. There’s a little bit of expectation playing against a Premier League side, but it does settle you down when they tell you things like that.
“And my team-mates around me as well, they’re pretty good with me.”
The Lions lost to the Blades after goals from Mo Besic and Oliver Norwood in the second half.
Mitchell continued: “We’ve played against top opposition in Sheffield United, they’re eighth in the Premier League after being promoted last season, they’re doing tremendously well. They’ve hopes of European football.
“I thought we acquitted ourselves pretty well for the most part. Until 60-odd minutes there wasn’t much in the game. We saw their quality on the ball later on, they moved it well and made it hard for us, we got tired.
“It was a good experience for a young player like me, you’re not going to play against many sides as good as that in the Championship. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot from it.
“You’ve got to try not get too overawed lining up in the tunnel beforehand. It’s a mentality thing, you’ve got to prove you’re just as good and for the most part we showed we could mix it with the best.
“It’s a disappointing result in one sense, but at the same time I think we’ve given a good account of ourselves. We potentially could have created some better chances, we got into some good areas but lacked a little bit of quality.
“It’s definitely quicker, there are sharper players, you’ve got to get tight. We do a lot of prep on the opposition so I knew what to expect.
“My game is quite energetic anyway generally so that wasn’t much of a problem. It can be quite a test when you haven’t played a game in a number of weeks, since Newport. There were some stiff legs towards the end of the game but I enjoyed it.”
Image: Millwall FC