GARY Rowett said it was a tactical decision to leave Scott Malone out of the team at Hull City last Saturday – but the Millwall boss admitted it may have been the wrong one.
Rowett set his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against the Tigers, with Sheyi Ojo – who took Malone’s place – and Jed Wallace the wide attackers.
Malone has been a regular at left wing-back or on the left wing this season. He started on the left side of the attack in a 4-2-3-1 in the 1-1 draw against Bournemouth last Wednesday week.
That allowed the Lions to switch between that formation and 5-2-3, with Murray Wallace tucking into a back three when Malone dropped deeper.
Millwall weren’t at their best as they lost 2-1 to Hull.
“It was purely tactical,” Rowett said when asked why Malone didn’t play. “In hindsight I probably should have started Scotty but I made a decision to go with a natural winger that side to see if that could cause problems for Hull defensively.
“I know that was going to stop us having the ability to change to a back five.
“That’s all it was, I just made the decision based on what I felt was needed tactically for the game.
“In hindsight maybe that wasn’t the right decision.”
Image: Millwall FC