‘We’re not little old Millwall any more’ – Lions comfortable with setting promotion as achievable target

Millwall will not be downplaying their Championship promotion ambitions this season.

That is the verdict of Lions club captain Shaun Hutchinson, as the South London club gear up for their seventh successive campaign in England’s second tier.

Millwall have twice finished eighth under boss Gary Rowett as well as seventh last time around, a 4-3 defeat to Blackburn on the final day crushing their top-six prospects.

And centre-back Hutchinson readily admits that the days of the Lions only aiming for consolidation are long gone.

“Under Gary Rowett we have always been there or thereabouts,” he told the South London Press.

“The start of last season is where we were not little old Millwall any more – we are allowed to talk about trying to get promoted. And we did, to be fair. We had our expectations of where we thought we would be and the levels we set ourselves.

“It is no different this season. We have got a really solid squad and a core of really good players. Obviously we’re going to bring in some really good quality new signings and they get time in pre-season to gel with us. They can fit in well and add more quality to an already pretty decent squad.

“We’ve definitely got to be focused on higher up the table and not just a mediocre mid-table finish. We’ve got to try and build on every season. It’s difficult, because teams have their good seasons and off seasons – but we’ve been quite consistent under Gary Rowett and I don’t see why this season, again, can’t be the same.”