JOE Edwards is looking forward to showing off what his players been learning on the training pitch as he gears up for his first game in charge of Millwall against Sheffield Wednesday.
The 37-year-old, who was appointed on Monday to replace Gary Rowett as head coach, has stressed that there will not be overnight changes as he looks to implements his ideas to the players.
But he will still be hoping his boys have taken aboard some tips – including ‘newer ideas of how to defend’ – to help end Millwall’s five-game winless run.
Opponents Sheffield Wednesday are bottom of the Championship with only a single win from 15 league games so far but Edwards has warned fans that the stats suggest they are improving under new boss Danny Rohl, who has managed four games so far.
Looking ahead to his first game in charge, the new Lions boss told Millwall TV: “Uncertainty is not easy but now that there’s a clarity on where we’re going and we’re underway with the work I think now everyone is excited to do our talking on the pitch and see what we’re about at what is obviously an iconic place in football, a great place to play at Hillsborough.
“They’ll have a massive crowd there, there will be a strong atmosphere. So we’re grateful for the strong Millwall following that we’ll be bringing, that’ll be a big help to us.
“I think it’s just about making sure we find that balance that there’s a lot of excitement, a fresh idea, we know what that idea is intended to be but at the same time, the reality of what this game is. This is a tough away Championship game against a team that have had a disappointing start to the season that sees them bottom of the league.
“But they’re also in a similar spot where they’ve got a relatively new manager [Danny Rohl] and if you watch their games and look at the stats around it, in more recent games they are on the upturn. So they’ll probably turning up in confidence as we are.
“So two teams going into a game fully believing they’re going to win it but it’s still a Championship game and we have to respect how much we’re going to have to do to get a win there.
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“We want to be front-foot, we want to be pressing and myself and Andy [Myers] come with a maybe a slightly newer idea in terms of how we defend. But I think the big turn for us will not be to go and win the ball back away from home and that’s our answer to having it.
“It will be more a case of doing all the graft and the work and defending that this team does really well and then when we get our opportunity with the ball, now show a bit more, look after the ball, and play with a bit more freedom.
“Hopefully that results in us getting up the pitch and creating chances and attacking but first and foremost, just take the strain off of it. Because that’s what I’ve seen. I’ve seen some unlucky results that deserved more for the work [put in] but certainly a lot of strain and effort going into games that hopefully if we can look after the ball a bit more, it will reduce that.”
