GARY Rowett has admitted that Millwall were “a little too safe” going forward in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Coventry City.
The Lions mustered just two shots on targets over 90 minutes against the Sky Blues while goalkeeper Ben Wilson was forced to make just one save.
Viktor Gyokeres’ second-half rocket was enough to hand the hosts all three points, with the Lions failing to threaten until the dying embers of the game.
Rowett was frustrated that his side looked lethargic in the final third, adding that his side needed to deal with Gyokeres better in order to pick up a positive result.
“I think you’ve got to do certain things when you go away from home,” he said after the defeat.
“When you look at the Cardiff game and the QPR game, I thought we defended really well and showed a bit of composure when we needed it.
“Tonight, you looked at Coventry and they look like a team that really had the edge about them at the start. They did what we’ve done to so many teams at The Den. They started really bright, full of running and looked like they were more desperate to start the game well.
“I think sometimes you have to accept that. It’s disappointing, but it took us a while to get into the game. I felt that, when we did get into the game, we moved the ball side to side to our full-backs, which was the obvious out-ball. Then we kept going backwards or sideways, and it just felt like we were being a little too safe.
“Against a side like Coventry with Gyokeres up front, what you can’t do is give balls away and leave him space against defenders, because he’s very, very good at utilising that space. They’ve got other good technical players but, at times tonight, he looked an immense threat on those transitions.
“Did we not deal with him well enough or is he just a really good player that teams are going to struggle to deal with? I don’t know, but if you want to keep a clean sheet and get something out of the game, you’ve got to keep him quiet. I thought he looked a handful all night.
“The goal is probably a testament to that. He brings it down, turns one way, wriggles back inside and hits it from 30 yards. I think the ball just goes around Coops [Cooper] and unsights Longy [Long] a little bit. It’s a great finish and you have to applaud that piece of skill, but it’s poor from us to allow him to do it.
“I think that was the disappointment up until the goal.”
Photo: Millwall FC