GARY Rowett has praised his former team-mate Scott Parker for the job he has done at Fulham ahead of Wednesday night’s clash at The Den.
Rowett and Parker played together at Charlton and it will be the first time they have been in opposition as managers.
The Cottagers, who defeated Millwall 4-0 at Craven Cottage earlier this season, are third in the Championship, level on points with Leeds and just four off West Brom.
“I played with Scott Parker, he’s a good character and has done a really good job,” Rowett said. “It’s his first job in management and not an easy job to manage a team that’s just been relegated and to try and get their morale back. But he’s done it.
“It’s very similar to Fulham’s side over the years when they’ve always moved the ball well, they’re a team that has a high amount of possession.
“When you play against a team like Fulham sometimes you’ve got to get in and disrupt it, and sometimes you have to be patient. You have to use the ball well yourself to stop them using it. You have to combine those elements.
“I think they’ve dominated possession in almost every game they’ve played. I would imagine it will be similar tomorrow because they build from the back.
“Like any team you play you’ve got to work out ways to stop them hurting you, and you want to make sure they have something to think about going the other way.”
Rowett could switch to five at the back against the joint-third top-scorers in the division. That would see Alex Pearce coming back into the side.
Mason Bennett and Ryan Leonard played in a behind-closed-doors game for the under-23s on Monday. Midfielder Leonard is slightly further along in his fitness than Bennett and could be in contention to feature for the first time since last October.
Fulham are unbeaten in five league games since their 2-1 home defeat to Reading on New Year’s Day.
Possible Millwall starting XI: 5-2-3: Bialkowski; Romeo, Hutchinson, Pearce, Cooper, M Wallace; Molumby, Williams; J Wallace, Bradshaw, Bodvarsson.
Match odds: Millwall 2/1 Draw 2/1 Fulham 6/4
Last meeting: Championship (August 21, 2019): Fulham 4-0 Millwall (Cavaleiro 15, 63, Knockaert 32, Mitrovic 56 pen).
Image: Millwall FC