JOE Edwards believes Millwall have to be “careful” about today’s game against Queens Park Rangers despite the Hoops’ struggles this season.
QPR have been in the relegation places since September and are winless in their last seven games.
Having found some form not long after Marti Cifuentes’ arrival, the west London club are struggling again.
They were second-best at The Den on Boxing Day when they lost 2-0 but will now be keen to get a much-needed win over their London rivals.
And despite Millwall’s improved performances since Christmas, Lions boss Edwards is aware that a potential banana skin of a match could be waiting at Loftus Road.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: “This is one of those games where you have two teams in very different positions and when you’re in the position we are, you have to be very careful going into these games.
“I think between September and November, QPR went on a long run of losing and drawing games and, probably coinciding with the manager change, all of a sudden they won three games in a row. And we know exactly what that feels like because that was us in December when we weren’t playing well and then all of a sudden we flipped it overnight and won three games.
“And when you look at how long it’s been now since they won a game, what you do know is at some point they will win and you need to make sure they there’s not one single element of complacency. We need to remember how fired up we were for the Boxing Day game and try and bring a little bit of that composure that we’ve picked up in the last few weeks and marry it all together.
“We’re a team that’s in a good place at the moment, it feels good around our camp. But we certainly shouldn’t feel comfortable going into this game because it’s potentially dangerous when you’re facing teams in the position that they’re in.”
Edwards also reflected on the huge win over QPR just after Christmas, which brought to an end Millwall’s seven game run without a win and seven match streak without a home victory.
He said: “A lot of what we were working on and things we were doing in training in those weeks in and around Christmas were very similar to what we had been doing in the weeks before. But everyone knows it’s amazing what a bit of confidence can do.
“And then we really kicked on and it was clearly noticeable that there was a greater confidence in the team.”
The Lions head coach will be hoping his side can kick on from last week’s 3-1 defeat to Middlesbrough that saw Millwall take the lead during an intense start to the game but fade away.
Reflecting on last week’s game, he said: “It was a disappointed, frustrated and somewhat angry dressing room because we’re competitive guys that had just lost a football match that we have worked really hard to prepare for and compete really well in. So when you’re on the end of a defeat, I’d never want any other feeling immediately after the game.
“But then you take a day or two to let the emotion disappear and analyse it properly. You get the benefit of watching it back and breaking it down and that’s what we’ve done as a group, for good and bad. When you lose a game 3-1 at home there are things you need to improve and those improvements need to be seen immediately.
“We’re well aware of all the good things we did and the good passages and particularly the strong start we had in that first 30-35 minutes. We saw bits of it in the Leicester game, bits of it against Bristol City. So the most pleasing thing is that there’s some consistency there. And the big aim for us now to [make sure] that 30 minutes against Middlesbrough isn’t a one-off. We need to try and sustain it for longer and try and be a team that does that regularly.”