GARY Rowett has said that he faces a number of difficult selection decisions after Millwall’s impressive performances against Rotherham United and Middlesbrough.
The Lions have looked rejuvenated since switching to a back four, naming the same lineup for consecutive games and picking up four points.
It leaves Rowett with a dilemma ahead of Saturday’s match at Bristol City. The Millwall boss said after his side’s 2-1 defeat against Blackburn Rovers that his selection decisions become easier when players aren’t performing well, but in turn it means that it’s harder for him to give opportunities to those on the fringes of the first-team picture.
One of those players is Jamie Shackleton, who has been a regular starter since moving to The Den in July as either a midfielder or a right wing-back. However, by changing to a 4-2-3-1, the Leeds United loanee has fallen out of the lineup while some of his teammates are struggling to even be named on the bench.
Rowett admitted that the 23-year-old has really impressed him in training recently, making it incredibly difficult to leave him out of the team.
“I think Shacks has been in really good form,” he told NewsAtDen.
“It’s more a formation change that led to him being out of the starting lineup, which feels a little bit unfair that that’s happened, but I’ve had to pick the team and roll with that to see where it goes.
“All of those players are going to be a massive part of what we’re doing, all of them will be needed to be ready when they come back into the team.
“Most managers will say exactly the same: the hardest part of management is leaving players out that have worked really hard all week and don’t feel like they’ve got a chance to do their job on a Saturday.
“In no line of business would you feel like you’re sacking someone on a Friday and then having to reemploy them again on a Monday, that’s how it feels.
“Of course, that’s what any healthy squad needs in this division and we need that competition for places. The problem is that only 11 players can play and there’s always going to be five or six players that are really, really disappointed with not playing.
“You can’t avoid that, all you can do is give players the opportunity to stay in the team when they get the chance.”
Photo: Millwall FC