MILLWALL boss Alex Neil has urged his players to embrace the moment as they close in on their first Championship play-off appearance since 2002.
Neil’s side are nine points clear of seventh-placed Wrexham with four games to go and can secure a top-six finish on Saturday if they beat Queens Park Rangers at The Den and other results go their way.
A win would also see them leap Ipswich Town into second, although the Tractor Boys would then be just one point behind with two games in hand.
With the finish line in sight, Neil urged his players to make the most of the opportunity.
“That’s what my message is: enjoy it,” Neil said. “You don’t know the next time this is going to happen. Jake Cooper’s been at this club for nearly a decade, and this is the closest that he’s ever been.
“I say this to the players regularly: you can play your whole career and never win or achieve or get promoted or be part of something. For exposure as an individual, as a collective, to showcase your team, to showcase your club, to showcase your players, something like the play-offs or a run into the end of the season, it’s just a brilliant thing to be involved in, the excitement that comes with it.
“Now, there might be elation at the end of it. There might be disappointment at the end of it. But that’s why we’re all involved. That’s what we’re here for. Would you rather sit twelfth and bore yourself to death in the remaining fixtures? No.
“Let’s enjoy it. Let’s look forward to it. Let’s live in the moment. Stop worrying about what might happen and let’s get on with it and support each other.”
Millwall’s strong form after the New Year has dipped in recent weeks as fixtures have grown trickier, with away trips to Ipswich and Middlesbrough either side of the international break.
A brilliant comeback win over Boro was followed by a home defeat to Norwich City and a stalemate at West Bromwich Albion last Friday, with several players on the floor at full-time after a draining run of fixtures.
Neil told NewsAtDen this week he felt his side needed to play with less “tension” and outlined how he is managing the mood in the dressing room.
“Mentality, how you approach things, keeping fire in your belly but a cool head when it matters most, can determine key moments in games, and no more so at the business end of the season when it’s coming to a bit of a crescendo, and you need to find a way to be effective and to win,” Neil said.
“The reason why teams win on a regular basis, the reasons why players win things on a regular basis, is because they’ve got the temperament and the mentality when it counts the most to produce.
“We’ve got a really young group, a lot of whom haven’t really even played in the Championship, never mind being at this end of the table in the Championship.
“Again, my message to them as much as it is to the fans is enjoy what you’re doing. You never know when this opportunity is going to come back around again. Don’t be a passenger and let it pass by you. Make sure that you enjoy every moment and give it your best shot. From our perspective, we should have zero fear. We should embrace the situation and give everything we’ve got and see where that takes us.”
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I like that he’s reminding the players to make the most of their opportunities. Do you think they’ll really pull off a playoff spot this year?