JOE Edwards expects Preston North End to be difficult to break down as he targets Millwall making a return to form.
The Lions turned in one of their most underwhelming performances of the season in defeat at Queens Park Rangers last week.
They have now lost three games in a row in all competitions and take on a Preston side who have been defeated in six of their last eight.
The clash at The Den will be one of only two Championship games played today due to the FA Cup fourth-round.
And Edwards is keen for Millwall to show the best of themselves again.
Discussing the side’s recent form, the Lions head coach said: “Without getting more goals, in terms of the dominance and getting from one end of the pitch to the other, it was kind of as good as it gets [against Middlesbrough]. And you can’t expect the 30 minutes of the opening stage of the football to look like that every week just because you have a clear plan or because you’re the home team.
“And when you play against a team like Preston, in terms of their out of possession style, they’re very well-organised, they block the pitch well.
“So the way it played out against Leicester and Boro, they left us some spaces and we exploited them. You see in the following game against QPR that if teams change it, it’s not always that easy to recreate that same tempo and relentless approach. But what we definitely have to have in our mind is a big part of what we’re about at home is asking questions of the opposition defensively and that means playing the game in their half to try and get in and around their box.
“And that was the big disappointment from the QPR game. We got lulled into this real controlled, possession style of play and forgot that there’s space behind and the goal was up the other end, and that’s not what we want to be about. We want to have a good variation in our game. The whole reason for this building out and playing out from the back is to draw teams onto us to then punish them. We need to make sure we recognise every opportunity and the things we’ve practiced this week in terms of movement are put into place.
“Preston are a team that typically play with a back five with strong defenders and midfield players sat in front of them, they’re not an easy team to break down. And I would imagine that they would analyse our last home game against Boro and try to prevent that first half an hour happening to them.
“We have to be realistic and have alternative answers to that. But at the same time it’s not as simple as start the game, play well and have 10 shots in the first 20 minutes.”