GARY ROWETT is excited by the prospect of facing former Lion Jed Wallace at The Den this weekend.
Wallace, 28, left Millwall on a free transfer over the summer, joining Championship rivals West Brom on a four-year deal.
The mercurial forward posted a tweet on Sunday night saying that he wanted “90 mins of dogs abuse… followed by a small clap after the game if you want” [sic], which Rowett is also expecting at SE16 on Saturday afternoon.
“I think Jed has alluded to it, you’re always going to get a bit of stick because you left,” he told NewsAtDen.
“I think, deep down, people will also appreciate him. How the fans go about showing that is up to them, but at some point in the game, usually afterwards, I’m sure they’ll give him a reception fitting of someone who’s put in a lot of effort and a lot of energy into a long and fruitful Millwall career.
“It’s always hard when a player comes back, they’re essentially always the enemy for 90 minutes, and most players or managers that come back know what to expect. I had a really good relationship with Jed, he was always quite open about what might happen and he’s a really good character.
“Even in a difficult start to the season for West Brom, he’s proved to be one of their main players straight away.
“My focus will be on trying to win the game and making him very unhappy at the end of it ideally, but he’s a good lad and I’m sure there’ll be a lot of people wanting to say hello to him at the end.”
Wallace, who scored 42 goals across 239 league games for Millwall, has already found the back of the net three times for the Baggies so far this season, providing a further two assists. In fact, many would argue that he’s been their best player in what has been a dismal start to the campaign.
Rowett is hoping that his side’s knowledge of the attacker could help them at The Den, but he admits that the argument goes both ways and that Wallace may know how to exploit certain vulnerabilities within Millwall’s back line.
“When you’ve worked with someone for a long time, you know their strengths. You can say that we know certain weaknesses, but he’s played against a lot of our defenders so he can probably say exactly the same.
“Whether someone has been here or not, I don’t think it really matters. You can have a game plan, you can tactically analyse every team, but ultimately it’s down to the players to do that in the heat of the battle on the pitch when the whistle blows.
“The information that you give them is important, and the tactics, but most of the games in the Championship become about duels and about who comes out on top.”
Photo: Millwall FC