ZIAN FLEMMING is still adapting to certain aspects of English football, but one of his favourite things is the way that Millwall fans travel in their numbers.
The Lions brought 1,268 supporters to Cardiff City for their 1-0 victory at the end of January, while 2,729 travelled across London to watch their side win against QPR for the first time since 1989.
The two results lifted Gary Rowett’s men up to fifth place in the Championship table before Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Coventry City, and Flemming believes that those packed out away ends have certainly played their part in turning around Millwall’s poor form on the road.
“It’s easy to say, but it actually is so good to have that support,” he told NewsAtDen.
“It’s so nice to see that when you come into an away stadium and we’ve been travelling for hours as well. When you see that there’s loads of people, and last weekend it was even full, it really does give you an extra bit of motivation.
“You think ‘oh, they’re all here to support us, they’re joining us, we can try to do this together’. When you win it, especially when it’s such a tight game, it’s an extra nice feeling because they’re all there.
“If it’s an empty away stand, you don’t feel the need to celebrate as much compared to when you see all those people going nuts!”
Their defeat against Coventry City on Valentine’s Day was Flemming’s 27th Championship match since arriving in South Bermondsey last summer, with Millwall winning twelve, drawing six and losing nine of those matches.
Thinking back to the start of his time in England, the Dutchman reflected on his move from Fortuna Sittard and the barrage of speculation and interest that preceded it, explaining that it was occasionally difficult to focus on the club’s battle to stay in the Eredivisie last season.
“Most of the chaos was in the summer, so it was good to have that outside of the league campaign,” he said. “Obviously last winter there were some transfer rumours, interest and negotiations, but because that was mid-season, I didn’t expect too much of it.
“I didn’t expect Fortuna Sittard to let me go anyway because we were in such a difficult position with the club. At that time, it was quite easy to accept that it wasn’t going to happen.
“I needed to make sure we stayed in the league first before I could make my nice move.”
In January, Millwall brought in Irish youngster Aidomo Emakhu from Shamrock Rovers alongside Oliver Burke on loan from Werder Bremen and Duncan Watmore on a permanent deal from Championship rivals Middlesbrough.
The deals for Burke and Watmore were driven by a need to have extra depth in the final third heading into the final months of the campaign, but Flemming is determined to maintain his game time as one of the club’s star players.
“I don’t mind playing all the time, I love it and I want to play as many games as possible,” he admitted.
“I still feel good and fresh, so I don’t need any new players to give me in particular some more rest.
“Obviously it was normal and quite logical that the club signed a couple of players that can give us an extra bit of quality because we feel like we’re so close yet so far away, but at least we’re in the middle of the race to get into that top six.
“Every winning goal or winning assist can make the difference in these kinds of games.”
Photo: Millwall FC