GARY Rowett admitted he was hurt to hear fans chanting about him in the closing stages of Millwall’s 3-1 defeat to Norwich.
The Canaries dominated the Lions and put the game to bed before the hour mark with goals from Jonathan Rowe, Josh Sargent and Ashley Barnes before a late Aidomo Emakhu consolation strike.
The away fans made their feelings clear in the last 25 minutes as they repeatedly chanted about the manager.
They initially criticised his style of football but also made an X-rated comment about the Lions boss that was more personal.
Rowett said in his post-match press conference: “First and foremost, if you’re a fan and it’s your club and you’ve paid your hard-earned money to come to the game, I understand you’re not going to be very happy if you see a performance of that ilk. And I get that.
“That’s the beauty of football, you can react and respond in the way you want. But as a human being, to have worked so hard at the club for four years, to get that after three games it’s disappointing and it is hurtful.
“I have worked incredibly hard away from my family for those years and I’m not going to lie here and say ‘it’s fine, it’s not a problem.’ But, I have to take that on the chin. And, in some ways, I would rather that than directed at the players. Because at the end of the day I’m the manager, I’m responsible for the performances.
“And the performance probably hurt me more, if I’m being honest. I can accept that but not the performance on the pitch. To me, that was probably the most disappointing part of the afternoon.”
Rowett appeared at one stage to clap the fans from the technical area as they sang about him.
On that incident he added: “I don’t necessarily think I [was] trying to show my appreciation. I just did not want to stand there and do nothing. It was just my acknowledgement that that was being sung. There’s not really much else to say about it.
“It was disappointing from my perspective. It is what it is. I don’t think any manager up and down the country would say anything different.”