GARY Rowett thought Brooke Norton-Cuffy was “excellent” in the first half against Birmingham City on Saturday as the Arsenal loanee made his second appearance for Millwall.
The 19-year-old debuted in the 1-0 win over Stoke City – but judged his own performance as only “alright” – before getting another start against Birmingham.
During a wide open first half, Norton-Cuffy got forward several times and sent a couple of well-delivered balls into the box during an energetic performance.
This is despite the fact he is still building up match sharpness after a limited pre-season at Arsenal.
Asked if he saw more energy in his performance against Birmingham compared to Stoke, Millwall boss Rowett said: “I think he showed similar energy to last week [against Stoke]. I thought he was very good last week as well. He hasn’t played many minutes this season, so I thought for the first half he was excellent.
“I also thought Muzza [Murray Wallace] was getting forward well in the first half, obviously a bit more of a defensive player than Brooke but we got to 60 minutes and they both looked to be fatiguing a little bit.
“We need to get to a point where the players come back after the [international] break and they keep turning over those physical performances out, and I’m pretty sure they will.”
Both Norton-Cuffy and Wallace were replaced in the final 15 minutes for the new signings who arrived on deadline day.
Ryan Longman and Allan Campbell made their first appearances in a Millwall shirt and will be hoping to build on that after the international break when the Lions host rivals Leeds United.