The Will Scott column: Brilliant Millwall show character at Deepdale and take another step towards history

WHAT a brilliant week that was.

Last Monday, I talked about the need for Millwall to bounce back after a disappointing loss to Portsmouth at The Den, and they certainly did that.

It was not just the result that needed answering, it was the manner of the performance, with both Alex Neil and an influential squad member in Casper De Norre admitting Pompey had wanted it more.

That was flipped on its head in both of the Lions' wins.

Alex Neil's side bowled over red-hot Birmingham City at home, then travelled up to the " cow field " at Deepdale and did exactly what they needed to do to extract all three points from the game.

Millwall have been built on the basics this season, the basics that not only get you the points at this level but have been at the heart of every good Millwall side.

Winning your duels, picking up second balls, defensive organisation, structure, accountability, hard work, doing the extra yards etc...

Neil has added a modern sheen to that, of course, in terms of how well they are structured out of possession, their build-up, their pre-scripted movement in the final third, while the recruitment department has added the quality throughout the squad needed to decide close games, but fundamentally, they are a side built on those basics.

This season, especially over the past two months, they have executed them to a very high level, with Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom reserving very high praise for them indeed.

"They're a very difficult team to play against and arguably, the basics, they do better than anyone else in this league," he said.

It was a game that especially necessitated a physical scrap due to the shockingly poor quality of the pitch, limiting any attempts to play actual football.

Millwall have already shown they can browbeat a team through superior strength and size, with ex-Watford coach Javi Gracia's decision to repeatedly go long against the Lions looking more and more baffling the further into the distance that game gets, so it played right into their hands.

It did, unfortunately, produce a rather boring game. Preston had more of the ball but did not do much with it - Tristan Crama and Jake Cooper were more than a match for Daniel Jebbison every time it was lofted long, and the Lions' midfield gobbled up most second balls.

North End did not look to have the pace or quality to really damage the Lions in transition despite having a few opportunities to do so (Lewis Dobbin did show a few flashes), and the wing-backs rarely ventured into dangerous areas - the one time they did Andrija Vuk?evi? produced a lovely cross that Jebbison headed wide for their only real chance of the first half.

Millwall's main threat, naturally, came from set-pieces and quality from out wide, with Josh Coburn (put himself about really well again) hitting the post before the opener.

The Lions recycled a set-piece, Camiel Neghli put in towards Cooper, Casper De Norre flicked it to Ryan Leonard, who conjured up a beautiful first-time finish to bury it in the corner - his first league goal in over five years.

"Brilliant finish," Neil said. "Casper is the one who sets it back. Casper then produces a brilliant pass for Camiel [Neghli] to put him through. It wasn't a brilliant spectacle of a game, but there were just little moments, and I thought we were on the better end of those moments."

Those moments tend to be the decisive factors in these sorts of games. Can you find the right ball in a rare foray into the box? Can you win your aerial duel at a set-piece? Can you find the finish when it pops out to you?

Preston could never answer those questions in the affirmative, while for Millwall, increasingly, the answers have been yes. The Lions should have been a few up before the half (Neghli firing wide from De Norre's and Coburn hitting the post), and produced more moments in the second half.

They were helped by the favourable game state - North End had shown little capacity for creation and had to push into less space, while Millwall could exploit the more exposed back line in transition.

Ultimately, nothing really happened for those opening 20 minutes. The Lions let their opponents have the ball (69 per cent possession between 45 and 65 minutes) in non-threatening areas of the pitch, and they repaid the favour by doing absolutely sod-all with it.

It was hardly surprising that three-quarters of Deepdale was eerily quiet. If I had to watch that stilted style of play week in, week out, I would struggle to get off my seat.

Heckingbottom's triple sub on the hour mark did make it a bit more interesting - spaces opened up and Preston had a few half-chances - the ball popped up to Callum Lang, who took too many touches and had a shot blocked, then Milutin Osmaji? also fired one into a defender's legs.

Part of it seemed to come from the tired legs who were out there, so I thought the late changes were much needed.

It shored it all up, and as Preston grew increasingly desperate, a late second felt likely, with Azeez particularly making his presence known as he attacked all that space.

It was certainly a goal fans needed to settle nerves - despite all Millwall's control, they were just one mistake from an unjust sharing of the points.

Fortunately, Azeez finally broke through, making his marker look silly with a few shimmies before firing it across goal for substitute Luke Cundle to apply the final touch.

The two goals Millwall scored really summed up their season: a second-phase set-piece aimed towards a big centre-back, and a moment of quality from a player too good for this division.

Obviously, Neil's side are much more than that, but those are the bits they excel at: the basics and then the added sprinklings of individual class on top.

What separates them from last season's iteration is not just the moments they can conjure through individuals who have taken the next step, but also the strength throughout the squad.

"I feel as if I've probably a bit more strength in depth right now [compared to stint as Preston boss]," Neil said. "The reason I'm saying that is the last three games, our subs have come on and scored. So when you can bring people off the bench, and they can have an impact in the game, it's so important because after seventy minutes today, some of our lads were dead on their feet. But the lads that come on, they can still do the job for us."

That has come from the sales of Romain Esse, Zian Flemming, and Japhet Tanganga - allowing the club to spend big and recruit widely in the two 2025 transfer windows.

"We sold a lot of players as well," Neil said. "We sold Tanganga, we sold Romain Esse, we sold Zian Flemming prior to me coming here. Jimmy [Berylson] is a brilliant owner. We're selling the players because that's what we are. That's our model. But equally, when it comes in, he invests in the team, he invests in the training ground. It makes us better. That's why we are where we are."

Every three points Millwall extract from a game (now seven in their past ten!), the closer Lions fans get to achieving that elusive dreal of a top-six Championship finish.

It feels strange to even type that out, especially given the financial heavyweights that dot this season's iteration of the 'most competitive football league' in the world.

I have intentionally tried to not get ahead of myself in my columns, podcast/ radio appearances, even when talking to other journalists, because it feels as if speaking it into existence will somehow jinx it.

That there have been too many years of hurt for it to ever be achievable, that the footballing gods are determined to taunt Millwall fans.

Yet, this year well and truly feels different, and with every gameweek we get closer to May, I feel more and more comfortable with the thought that this is their year.

It was the result of a series of decisions that needed to go right - the decision to rip it all up and go with a new, bold hierarchy and model in summer 2024, the signings of Azeez, Crama, Alfie Doughty, Caleb Taylor, Coburn, Mihailo Ivanovic, Camiel Neghli, which as a totality required more financial commitment than Millwall had ever committed to before, the appointment of Neil after a club legend walked out the door.

Those all had to work to get Millwall to their current position - the financial muscles of the parachute-payment clubs offer too thin a margin of failure.

And they could still rip it away from them at the final hurdle.

A nine-point gap with eleven games left is very favourable odds, but a minefield awaits - even an old familar tripwire in Blackburn Rovers at home.

For now, looking at it one game at a time is the easiest way to handle the nerves, excitment, trepdiation - as Neil always insists they do when asked about the promotion race.

Every away day brings a journalist from a new patch probing Neil on whether he thinks his side can do it, and every time the question is batted away.

"Absolutely not," came his latest reply. "I've been in the game too long. I've been in similar positions when I've been at Preston. What I do understand with football is the minute you get ahead of yourself, then it comes back to humble you pretty quickly. So as far as I'm concerned, the only game I focus on is the next one."

This will not be the first or last time I use these words in this column, but the next game is a huge one.

12:30, away at fifth-placed Hull City, with a full complement of away fans at your back - what an occasion that will be.

While playing the best teams is obviously the harder path, it also lets your knock points off their total.

A result at the MKM Stadium would ease a lot of nerves, even if Opta's supercomputer currently gives them a 93.72 per cent chance of a top-six finish (and a 11.6 per cent chance of a top-two finish, never say never!).

While I would stil be reluctant to use any hyperbolic language or make any predictions until it is all but mathematically confirmed, I could be talking with a lot more confidence about Millwall's top-six chances by next week.