Gary Rowett provides further analysis of Millwall’s 1-0 win at Derby County

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Gary Rowett has praised the the defensive performance of his Millwall side in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Derby County.

The Lions have picked up maximum points in back to back matches on the road after collecting a 2-1 result at Bristol City last Tuesday.

Millwall are unbeaten in seven Championship matches and have successfully used a 5-2-3 formation to win at Derby County and Swansea City.

Rowett had replayed the victory over the Rams over the weekend.

He said: “When you play that formation and use the ball really well – like we did in the first half against Bristol – you can have multiple attacking threats.

“The Derby game was exactly how I saw it [initially] – we just didn’t pass it with as much composure as we have done. That’s understandable – we’re on the back of a huge effort in a number of games from the same players, because we haven’t got that squad size to keep changing it all the time.

“We didn’t get out as much as we’d like. Nevertheless we still created some good opportunities for chances. I say opportunities for chances because we never quite made that final pass to create the chance.

“We defended really well. When we watched it back our defensive shape was excellent. We just lacked a tiny bit of that zip about us to press well enough to get up the pitch.

“I’ve said it before that sometimes you’re going to win games playing really well and sometimes you’re going to win games in a not great fashion but ultimately they’re the ones that are going to have greater value – because that’s the art of a decent team.”