MANY Millwall fans believe that their side has improved massively because of Gary Rowett’s decision to move away from his preferred back five system.
The Lions started playing in a new 4-2-3-1 formation at the start of October and have been unbeaten ever since, with many players admitting that they believed the tactical tweaks had made a significant difference.
Mason Bennett disagrees with this, however, instead highlighting Millwall’s improved attitude in training and on the pitch in the last three weeks.
“To be honest, I don’t think it [the formation change] made much difference,” he told NewsAtDen.
“I can understand that we’ve got an extra body going forward, but I think it’s just been about the work ethic. We had some serious meetings about off-the-ball work, even on the ball we’ve got to work harder to sprint, get in positions and help our mates out. That message has really stuck in our heads.
“It doesn’t really matter what system you play to me, everyone’s just got to work incredibly hard. We’re that kind of group where we’re grafters, in football terms we graft hard and grind out results. We’ve got that real togetherness where we egg each other on, we dig deep when we need to and that’s only healthy for us going forward.”
While signing quality players is always important, it’s clear that it takes a certain kind of personality to play for Millwall. Bennett believes that everyone in the current squad has those characteristics, which helped them pull together during their tough run of form at the start of the campaign.
“One of the main reasons why I signed here on loan in the first place was because I had a chat with the gaffer and he really explained to me about the group. Obviously I knew Pearcy [Alex Pearce] at the time from our Derby days, he knows what kinds of changing rooms I’ve been in in the past.
“It’s nice to come to Millwall, as soon as I walked through the door I was made to feel welcome. You want to be nice to people but you need that nastiness in the group as well where, if someone’s not doing something right, dig them out, tell them. Then you get in the changing room and it’s all forgotten about, you move on.
“That’s a really positive thing we’ve got going on in this group.”
*Read more from Mason Bennett in this week’s Southwark News, where he talks about his recovery from his recent injury, the psychological issues that he faced while isolated from the first-team squad and why no Millwall player ever looks at the Championship table.
Photo: Millwall FC