GARY Rowett is grateful for such stable leadership at Millwall – and revealed phone calls from John Berylson after games give him the confidence to get on with the job.
The Lions went 10 league games without a win earlier this season and one win in 15 left them just seven points above the relegation zone in the middle of January.
Eight managers have lost their jobs in the Championship this season, including former Millwall boss Neil Harris who was sacked by Cardiff after six defeats in a row.
But Berylson and chief executive Steve Kavanagh were never likely to act rashly or bow to any outside pressure to potentially make a change.
And in the last month Millwall have pulled well clear of the bottom three to reignite their slim play-off chances.
“They’ve both been brilliant with me since I came to the club,” Rowett said. “This is one of the reasons why I came to the club in the first place.
“My hope was to go in somewhere where those in charge are really level-headed and we could build something long-term. They know what the club’s about.
“We all want to be ambitious, we all want to do as well as we can and challenge at the top end, but the club also recognises that there are some challenges that bring a little bit of realism.
“But that doesn’t mean to say we can’t try and push.
“Steve does it day-to-day. John will ring after games and he’ll be realistic. He might be disappointed but he certainly won’t berate you or ask you too much.
“He’ll always say the same: ‘You’re the manager, it’s your job and you’ve got to make the right calls.’
“That gives you confidence, it gives you a stable working environment in which at least you have a chance to go and put performances in and win games.”
Rowett said that during that tough run it wasn’t difficult going into the training ground the morning after games and putting on a positive face.
“It’s not difficult because that’s what I’m paid to do. I’ve always been that way, and I’ve never shied away from difficult periods because that’s a huge part of the job, managing the ups and downs,” he said.
“Everyone can manage when you’re winning games, it’s when you’re losing games you’ve got to earn your money and try and stay calm.
“You’re always a little bit frustrated, you’re always unhappy with those types of results but what you have to do is make sure the players don’t feel that disappointment.
“It has to be really clear for them what they have to do to get out of it. That’s what we’ve always tried to do, be consistent and create a good mood.
“That’s the best way to handle any difficult run like that.
“We weren’t playing badly, it was more just the results weren’t what we wanted them to be.”
Image: Millwall FC