Millwall boss gives his assessment of Reading – as two clubs face each other at The Den tonight

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Gary Rowett reckons his Millwall side face another test of their defensive credentials against Reading tonight.

The Royals were one of the early pacesetters as new boss Veljko Paunovic got off to a good start.

But four successive losses – the latest 4-2 at Bournemouth after leading 2-0 – has dropped them to sixth in the table.

Millwall have won once at home in the Championship this season – drawing four of their six league fixtures in SE16.

Asked about Reading, Rowett said: “They had a fantastic start to the season and scored a good few set-piece goals early on. They are a dangerous side who have got a lot of individual quality at the top end of the pitch who can hurt you.

“They showed that against Bournemouth – and they can do that to any team. We’re certainly going to have to be at our best defensively, we can’t make mistakes like we did on Saturday.

“But at the other end there are also areas where we can cause them problems.

“It’s going to be a very similar game to what we faced against Cardiff. The likes of Joao, Meite and Aluko are really good players at the top end of the pitch – but is that any different to Moore, Ojo or Hoilett? It’s no different.

“We’ll approach the game again with the hope we can get that home win that we’re desperate for. But I’m hoping we don’t play with too much desperation. We’ve still got to relax and play our game.”