GARY Rowett knows all about the threat of a shock Millwall face this weekend – because he has masterminded them before.
The Lions travel to National League Boreham Wood on Saturday afternoon aiming to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup.
In his first season as a full-time manager, Burton Albion knocked three teams from divisions above out of cup competitions as they successfully went through four rounds in total.
In the FA Cup, the League Two Brewers won at League One Crewe before going out at Leicester City in the third round.
Earlier that season in the League Cup, Burton won at Sheffield United on penalties before spectacularly beating the Championship Foxes 4-2 at the King Power Stadium.
Burton eventually bowed out to Bradford City, who became the first fourth-tier team since 1962 to reach the League Cup final.
Boreham Wood are 11th in the National League table, but trail the play-offs by just two points and have four games in hand.
Rowett will be warning his players against taking Luke Garrard’s side lightly this weekend.
“I think it’s quite simple. If you’re a lower-league team playing against a team in leagues above, you have to have two things,” Rowett explained.
“You have to make sure you perform to your maximum and you have to hope that the opposition don’t have the right mentality stepping down playing against a team lower down the football pyramid.
“Whenever I’ve faced lower-league opposition with Championship teams it’s always the same message. If your mentality is spot on then the game should take care of itself. If your mentality is anything other than spot on then you’re in for a tough afternoon.
“I’ve been there as a manager. At one stage [with Burton] we’d knocked more teams out of cup competitions than any other team in a time period.
“We know what it’s all about so hopefully that gives us a chance to pre-empt some of those situations.”
Image: Millwall FC