‘I had to be very mindful’ – Millwall head coach Edwards had to balance enthusiasm with making sure squad stay fresh

Joe Edwards would have loved to have been on the training ground as much as possible during the international break but had to temper that enthusiasm to make sure his Millwall squad are at maximum freshness for the resumption of Championship action.

The Lions’ new head coach made a dream start to life in the job with a 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month.

But then came a shutdown from league commitments as the latest round of international matches came up.

Millwall host Coventry City on Saturday and then head to promotion-chasing Ipswich Town on Wednesday.

Edwards told the South London Press: “Me personally, I had to be very mindful of that because I was obviously in an international role, so my schedule in the weeks leading up to taking this job had been pretty low key. I hadn’t been in a working environment every day – working hard.

“So when I then came here and there was a real excitement my end – I could’ve been here every day and would’ve loved to have spent every day on the training pitch. But we had to recognise that although this is new, fresh and exciting for us that this is a group that is very much in the grind of a Championship campaign that had started back in pre-season, in June or so.

“So to have those blocks of three days after the Sheffield Wednesday game and the weekend off that we just had – to keep recovering and keep fresh – is important because this spell now between the Coventry game and the next March international break is the biggest chunk of the season, really, where there are loads of games played.

“To ensure we go into it ready – but fresh – is important.”