JED Wallace hopes Millwall can still achieve something special this season – and has his fingers crossed that Lions fans are there to see it.
The season is currently suspended until April 30, but that return date now seems unlikely given the most recent government restrictions on the movement of people to try to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Millwall have put back their scheduled return day for training from April 3 to April 14, with players maintaining their fitness levels with tailored individual programmes.
Wallace said recently he wants the season to finish, with Millwall just two points off the top six with nine games left.
The attacker also feels the break could benefit the Lions, who have one of the smallest squads in the Championship.
Wallace also admits he could benefit from a break. He scored 10 goals this season until the end of December but has just one since.
Wallace feels attacking players are held to higher standards as their output is judged on goals and assists.
He conceded that perhaps he was running low on energy levels before the season was interrupted in early March.
“Yeah a little bit, but it’s a long season,” Wallace told NewsAtDen. “As an attacking player I think sometimes it’s very difficult. I watch players in the Premier League that are worth £100million and they can have a quiet seven or eight games. Sometimes it’s like if I’ve a quiet game it’s the end of the world for some fans.
“For me to keep playing at the level I was playing at, as the gaffer said, I would end up with 30 assists and 25 goals, which is probably not realistic.
“You get judged on results. Personally I thought I did well against Birmingham in the live TV game, I thought I did well in the Bristol City game. In the Forest game I didn’t feel that involved but put a shift in and everyone said we all played really well.
“One thing I’ve learned in the last 24 months at Millwall, the season we finished eighth, last season and this season, is if the changing room does well individuals will get praise. No one cares if you score and we lose.
“The fact is that even if I didn’t score in the last nine games and we finished in the play-offs, I’d be delighted.
“I know that even when I’m not scoring and creating goals I’m still helping to create chances. One of the goals against Forest I won the ball back. I’ll always work hard. Even if I don’t have that final end product they can see that I always give my all. I know that over the course of season I have affected a lot of games, and I know that I can do that in the next nine games that are left.
“It’s just a case of whether we can get out on that bloody park.”
Wallace did have some attacking burden relieved on him after Millwall signed Mason Bennett on loan from Derby.
Bennett wanted a fresh start away from the Rams after he was involved in a drink-driving incident last year.
He has made a positive start to his Lions career, helping to set up two goals in the 3-0 win at Notttingham Forest in Millwall’s last game before the enforced break.
“He’s a great lad,” Wallace said. “He made a mistake that a lot of people judged him for, and rightly so. When he walked in he was the first person to hold his hands up and say he knew he did wrong in the past, he made a mistake.
“He wants to keep his head down and work hard, and there is no better place than a club like Millwall for someone like him to come in, roll his sleeves up and show what he’s capable of.
“He’s just a very different option. We’ve got a lot of crossers of the ball in terms of Connor [Mahoney], Jiri [Skalak], Fergie [Shane Ferguson]. Now we’ve got the pace and power of Benno, which is key in a division like the Championship where so many goals are scored on the counter-attack.
“I feel like me and Mahlon [Romeo] down the right-hand side are very strong. Now we’ve got the versatility as well. Fergie came in on the left against Forest and put in a really good defensive display. You know with Fergie you’re going to get that great set-piece quality as well and he’s going to work his socks off for the team.
“Benno gives that different option. I’m sure Fergie won’t mind me saying that him and Benno are a little bit different physically. Benno will give us that pace and power, and also to be able to bring that off the bench can frighten people. That’s what we need.
“He was very involved in a couple of the goals against Forest and he’s certainly someone who wants to prove himself at this level. He can certainly get fitter, he knows that himself, he’s not played loads of football. There’s a lot more to come from him.”
Meanwhile, Wallace is currently at home with his fiancée and two children under two as people obey new rules on social distancing.
He lives on the same street as Shaun Williams, and stresses the importance of checking in on people.
Wallace said: “Whether you’re a footballer, or whatever you are, it’s about making sure you and the people around you are alright.
“I live in a little cul-de-sac and have spoken to four or five neighbours and we’ve all come together. We need to stick together as sort of an extended family and I think it’s the same for most people.
“I’m naturally a positive person so I’m not too worried about this. But what I am worried about is the fact that, with social media and stuff, people are afraid of the unknown. I think the most important thing we can do is stay positive.
“You can see this and see that on social media and you don’t know what to believe. It’s so surreal it almost hasn’t sunk in yet. I might not play football for the next three months. You almost can’t make a judgement on it, it’s crazy.
“All you can do is keep yourself in good shape and hope that the football season does come back on and that if Millwall can achieve something great then our brilliant supporters will be there to see us do it.
“I think they deserve it for the way they have supported us up and down the country the last three years. If we can do something it will only be half the experience without the Millwall fans there behind us.”
Image: Millwall FC