ADAM Barrett is expecting a challenging match as Millwall head to Preston North End for the first game of his latest caretaker stint.
The 43-year-old will be heading up first-team affairs until further notice after a dramatic week at The Den saw Gary Rowett mutually agree to leave his role as manager.
While Millwall begin a comprehensive search for his replacement, Barrett is tasked with keeping the show on the road.
His first task will be getting something from Deepdale, a ground where Millwall have a good record. But they will be facing a Preston team that start the day third in the Championship, albeit off the back of three straight defeats.
Barrett said: “Preston have started the season exceptionally well. They had a little bit of a wobble just before the international break so I think that’s probably done them good, they’ve got some people coming back to fitness. We’re expecting a very, very tough game, there’s no two ways about it.
“We’re going to have to be at our best. We have to make sure the boys now, after a manic 24 hours, are back in focus. We had a good training session and we’re looking forward to it. Great game to be involved in and we’ll make sure that come kick-off, we’ll be ready to put a real shift in.”
Barrett, who served as Gary Rowett’s assistant manager, also insisted his mind is purely on today’s game.
He added: “You can’t look too far ahead. It is literally we’ll look at Preston, we’ll deal with Preston and then it’s the home game against Blackburn but you can’t look too far ahead. I think in this situation as well, when you come in as caretaker, it’s now full focus on that game and when that’s done, then we’ll look at the next one.
“That’s all we can do. That’s all we can do as staff, that’s all I will do and make sure the players are concentrating on that. If you start thinking too far ahead or take your eye off the game, that’s when you can get punished so we have to make sure that doesn’t happen and where we are in two, three weeks time, who knows?”