DEFENDER Joe Martin is relishing experiencing the “biggest” games of his career when Millwall take on Bradford in the League One play-off semi-finals.
The 27-year-old returned to Priestfield for the first time since leaving Gillingham in the summer and saw his side overcome the Kent outfit 2-1 to secure second-leg home advantage against the Bantams.
And Martin feels Neil Harris’ men have momentum going into Sunday’s first-leg at Valley Parade.
“Bradford are a little bit like us,” Martin said.” “We are slightly different. It’s going to be a physical game, they are going to make it really difficult for us.
“If we show what we have been showing since Christmas, I’m sure we will give them a good game.
“If we can get through these games they’ll be the biggest in my career. I’ve never really experienced it being a starter, but we are all confident and excited about the next two games.”
Lee Gregory was back in the Millwall team for the first time since going off in the win over Fleetwood in April, and he was back among the goals with a 98th-minute penalty to sink Gillingham.
And Martin feels Gregory’s return will be a huge boost heading into the next two games.
“Gregory is a big player for us,” Martin said. “Him and (Steve) Morison up front give any defence a hard time, and Aiden (O’Brien) has done really well, too. We are looking good, we have a good strikeforce who are a real danger, it looks positive.
“We didn’t really need the points but we still saw it as a big game, you want to keep the momentum. We are in a great run of form at the moment and it can only help us going into those two games.
Martin said earlier this season that he felt Millwall’s squad was better than that of his former club’s, and he was ready for the welcome Gills fans gave him at the weekend.
“I expected to get a fair bit in the way of abuse.” Martin admitted. “It was hostile and it was a tough game. I was expecting a bit of stick and I got that.
“But at the end of the day we wanted the three points and to finish as high as we could and get the play-off second leg at home.
“When you play in a winning team it gives you confidence, it makes it a lot easier. We are looking good and looking strong.”