MILLWALL manager Gary Rowett will be aware of the live scores of the other three games in the play-off race to be in the best position to be able to react to what his side needs to do.
There are multiple possibilities this weekend, but one is that the Lions have to score more goals to clinch a top-six place.
Goal difference will come into it if Millwall are beating Bournemouth, Sheffield United are losing to Fulham and Middlesbrough are not winning against Preston.
On the last day of the 1995-96 season, Manchester City were drawing 2-2 at home to Liverpool when City boss Alan Ball got information that relegation rivals Southampton were losing and told future Millwall manager Steve Lomas, who then took the ball to the corner flag. Southampton, though, were drawing their game, City’s finished 2-2 and they were relegated from the top flight with a worse goal difference than the Saints.
Rowett said he and his coaching staff will also have different plans to chase more goals if they need them. Rowett kept Jed Wallace in reserve last Saturday against Peterborough – albeit the Lions boss felt the attacker wasn’t fit to start anyway – and he came on to exploit the spaces and provided two assists.
If Millwall get ahead in the game this weekend and United are losing, Middlesbrough are failing to win and Luton are getting a result, it would come down to goal difference between the Lions and the Blades.
That is one of several different scenarios and Rowett will be aware of what’s happening elsewhere.
“You have to be,” Rowett said. “I’ve heard a lot of managers talk at this stage of the season that we don’t worry about other results, we just concentrate on ours. I understand that, everyone to a certain degree does.
“You have to know what’s happening around you because at the end of the game you could find out if you’d scored one more goal you’d have been in the play-offs.
“I think everyone knows roughly what’s happening. I would always prefer to be armed with all the information so I could try to make the best in-game decisions as possible.
“It’s not always easy to do that but if having the scores live doesn’t deter too much from your game plan then that’s the best scenario.
“We were 1-0 up on Saturday, we had plans to go and chase more goals if we needed to. We did, we got another couple, and we’ll have similar plans against a Bournemouth side that I’m sure will pose a much different test to Peterborough.”
Image: Millwall FC