GARY Rowett admits that he understands why Millwall fans are angry about their performances this season, but he’s not listening to any outside noise despite his side’s poor form.
The Lions have had an underwhelming start to the campaign, losing five of their ten Championship games so far. However, Saturday’s 2-1 win against Blackpool eased some of the pressure after their poor run, although the half-time whistle was met by a chorus of boos and supporters still voiced their frustrations online after the match.
“I’ll be really honest, I don’t look at social media, it’s not something that particularly interests me,” Rowett told NewsAtDen.
“I’ve been here for three years, so as a manager, I’m pretty well versed on the fact that if you’re not winning lots of games and not scoring lots of goals, then the fans pay their money and they’re entitled to their opinions.
“I can understand their frustration at not being near the top end of the Championship, that’s fine. I’ve always said the same, I don’t think ‘pressure’ is the right word because there’s people in far more pressured jobs than I am.
“I want to win games for the football club. I want to win games so the fans can feel good about themselves on a weekend. How they choose to react is their right and decision, so it’s not really something that I can control.”
While Rowett says that he understands why the supporters are frustrated by the results and the style of play, he prefers to focus on the incredible backing that the club has received throughout his tenure to date.
“I can only judge what I’ve faced so far. That’s three seasons where we’ve finished in the top half and I think the fans have been absolutely brilliant.
“It’s like anything, any manager would say the same. I think I’m about the third longest-serving manager in the Championship,” he chuckles. “I’ve been here for three years, there’ll be some people that want something different, there’ll be some people that will be quite happy with a top-half finish, and there’ll be some in between.
“I can’t really change that. All I can do is work as hard as I can for the football club and for the fans to win games. That’s literally all I focus on and everything else is people’s opinions that I can’t really control, and I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it too much.”
Photo: Millwall FC