GARY Rowett said Millwall have to keep producing their own talents as they aren’t able to splash out big money on players.
Rowett handed 15-year-old Zak Lovelace (above) his debut in the 1-0 win over Coventry City on Wednesday.
Nana Boateng and Besart Topalloj were unused substitutes as the Covid-depleted Lions earned victory through Tom Bradshaw’s 79th-minute goal.
Academy products Danny McNamara and Billy Mitchell started the game as they continue to cement their places as first-team regulars.
“As a club we can’t buy top, top players – and I don’t mean that disrespectfully because we have players that have played at a very high level – but the only way we can get someone of that sort of value is to produce them ourselves, to try to find a little bit of a pathway, and accept that maybe sometimes we might lose a game by trying to do it,” Rowett said. “Sometimes we might be a little bit weaker trying to do it, but long-term term hopefully we’ll be stronger.
“You’ve seen it with Billy Mitchell playing lots and lots of games now. Danny McNamara playing lots and lots of games. Those players are only going to get better, but they’re going to get little bumps in their careers, little bumps in the road along the way this season.
“What you’ve got to do is try and support them.
“The fans responded as soon as [Lovelace] came in. He chased someone 50 yards – he’s absolutely lightning, by the way. But he didn’t have to do that. I said before he came on, if you run back and make a tackle, that might be just as important as running the other way and getting us up the pitch.
“It was nice to see.
“It’s a shame as well because I think Nana, Bez, they’ve trained really, really well this week and have just given us a little bit of extra spark, if I’m being honest.
“I’ve been really pleased.”
Image: Millwall FC