GARY Rowett wants some of his fringe players to grasp their chance against Cheltenham as he set the bar high for those who will be involved in Millwall’s EFL Cup second-round clash at The Den on Tuesday.
Players such as Connor Mahoney, Jiri Skalak and Tom Bradshaw are out to impress ahead of next weekend’s league visit to Rotherham, if they feature against the League Two Robins.
The winner of the tie will play Premier League Burnley or Sheffield United in the next round.
“We want to put the best team out for us to try and progress,” Rowett said when asked about his starting XI this evening. “We’ll be playing against a highly motivated Cheltenham side who will come and try to win.
“The main thing for us is to maintain those standards we’ve set ourselves no matter what team plays. I expect us to go out there and be professional.
“It’s a great opportunity for some players to go out and show what they can do in a home game. We want those standards to be really, really high, like they were against Crawley, and we’ll see if they are.”
Rowett is set to start Bart Bialkowski in goal against the Robins, rather than give Joe Wright his first-team debut.
Rowett explained: “We’re two games into the season and I don’t think a goalkeeper needs a rest at this point. It’s just about getting minutes into certain players. Some players can go again from Saturday, some players will come in where we feel we can make changes without affecting the quality or rhythm of the team.
“The goalkeeping position is one which I wouldn’t imagine would change.”
Image: Millwall FC