MILLWALL boss Gary Rowett said the return of fans would make “all the efforts of this season worthwhile” as he hopes for a packed Den from the start of next season.
Lions CEO Steve Kavanagh gave an update this week and said the club hope to be in a position to make season tickets and memberships for 2021-22 available in the coming weeks.
The UK took its first steps on the ‘roadmap’ out of the third lockdown this week and with the vaccine rollout so far hitting targets and Covid-19 infections and deaths dropping it is hoped things can return to close to normal over the summer.
Supporters could even make returns to grounds this season at limited capacities, but that is set to be too late for Millwall as the play-offs are the most likely games when that can happen.
The last time The Den was fully open was last February 29. Next season’s EFL starts the weekend of August 6.
“We’ve been waiting for it for well over a year now,” Rowett said. “We’ve spoken about it before, it’s been frustrating. It’s football but not really like football.
“When you talk to the players about the effect the fans have on the game you realise even more so when they’re not there for a long period.
“As much as you have to get used to it it still doesn’t feel the same.
“We can’t wait, we can’t wait to get our fans back. We’re just hoping that would be from the start of next season, which would be fantastic.
“It would be fabulous. It would make all the efforts of this season worthwhile to know the fans are coming back and we’ll have those atmospheres at The Den once more.”
Image: Millwall FC