MILLWALL boss Gary Rowett says Charlie Cresswell has a “burning desire to be the best” as he discussed the defender’s improvement in the second half of the season.
Cresswell is currently keeping club captain Shaun Hutchinson out of the side and on Friday was called up to the England under-21 squad.
On-loan Leeds United centre-back Cresswell, 20, started the campaign with two goals on his debut against Stoke City but was then in and out of the team approaching January leading to speculation he could be recalled by his parent club.
Cresswell had to be patient, but his time came when Hutchinson picked up a groin injury in January. Cresswell was brought into the team as a result and has hardly put a foot wrong since.
Cresswell thought he had his fifth goal of the season in the 2-1 win against Swansea City, before it was officially credited to Tom Bradshaw. But Cresswell’s is still an impressive goal contribution as he leads the way in the Lions’ defender scoring charts.
His centre-back partner, Jake Cooper, put his improvement down to learning from mistakes and adapting to how Millwall prefer to play, and Rowett pointed to the attitude that he has shown on the training ground and during matches.
“I think he’s improved by learning what it is to be a centre-half in the Championship, which is one of the hardest positions for any young player to manage and master,” Rowett told NewsAtDen.
“There’s a lot of players that have been in the division for a long time and still will find it a real challenge because it’s such a competitive league.
“With Cressy, what you see is a lad that’s got a real burning desire to be the best, and you see that manifest in the way he trains and acts around the place, as well as his commitment to being away on loan for the season, which I think has been tremendous.
“What you have to do around that is learn very quickly in this division. He’s played really, really well. He’s had some extreme moments in games, but that’s what any young player is going to do when you want to play to a higher level. You can’t do that without making some mistakes.
“I think he’s learned to control his emotions better within games and he’s learned to make better decisions within games, but the Championship is still a challenge and you’re still going to make the odd mistake.
“I don’t think there’s any player, whether you’re 20 or 32, that’s not going to make mistakes, that’s the nature of the business.
“If you take the three centre-halves we’ve got in Coops, Hutchy and Cressy, I could play any two of the three at the moment. I trust every single one of them and I think that’s a testament to Cressy for the way he’s certainly improved some of the elements around his game.
“It’s an area you don’t tend to rotate, but at the same time we’ve got three very, very good centre-backs with different experiences and qualities, but nevertheless all very good players.”
Image: Millwall FC