LEE Gregory says he is finally feeling fit after scoring the first goal in Millwall’s 2-0 defeat of Swindon on Saturday.
Gregory, who scored the winner at Shrewsbury on the opening day, lost his place in the side to Aiden O’Brien after a difficult August but along with Steve Morison gave the Robins defence no respite at the weekend.
Manager Neil Harris started with three strikers against Swindon, whose manager Mark Cooper left the club after the defeat, with O’Brien in a wide position on the right of midfield.
The tactic paid off 19 minutes into the game when the Lions broke and the Irish striker played in Gregory for the opening goal.
Gregory, who has now scored four goals this season, was substituted with 11 minutes left and was given a standing ovation for his efforts by the majority of the 8,524 crowd inside The Den.
And he admitted his display was an improvement having struggled to find consistent form so far this season.
“It was a much better performance,” Gregory said. “On a personal note my performances haven’t really been there this season. I’ve had a few little niggles here and there but the past couple of weeks I’ve felt 100% fit and I’m feeling more confident now.”
“I didn’t really notice (the crowd), I was that tired coming off. For once in my life I was actually glad to come off! I was really tired because I put everything into it for the time I was on the pitch.
“It was a good team performance and I was happy with myself so I was pleased to come off with us in front.”
Gregory also revealed that before Saturday’s game Harris had made it clear to his two strikers that he expected them to set the tempo against an injury-hit Swindon.
The result was a potent attacking performance from Millwall and they should have won by more after registering 20 attempts on goal, 10 of them on target.
Gregory said: “Before the game on Saturday the gaffer pulled me and Moro to one side and he said the priority was us two working as hard as we possibly could.
“We had to press on because we knew how Swindon played, they like to pass it. He said to us we needed to be on our game, working hard and making sure that they didn’t start passing it, and then we’d win the game.
“I think it worked. We pressed from the front and everyone followed. I think that’s why I was so tired, we didn’t really have any rest.
“We were working hard up front and then as soon as we got the ball back we were going forward, forward, forward. It was a great game to be involved in.”