After four successive victories, Millwall came crashing down to earth with a bang last night following their 3-0 defeat at Northampton. Despite that loss, the Lions have improved significantly under new boss Willie Donachie and their revival over the Christmas period has lifted the East End outfit five-points clear of the drop zone. Although still languishing in 19th place, such is the congested nature of the league table that a win against the Cobblers this week would have taken Millwall into the top half of the table for the first time this season. Givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with experienced goalkeeper Chris Day ahead of this weekend's trip to leaders Scunthorpe.
Q:YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH NORTHAMPTON RESULT?
A:It was disappointing because before that game things had been going really well. Our four wins had put us in a position where another victory would have taken us up to 12th, but it wasn't to be.
Q:WHAT DO YOU PUT THE CLUB'S SLOW START TO THE SEASON DOWN TO?
A:We had a lot of players leave the club in the summer and a lot of new faces come in and everyone took a little bit of time to settle in. The club significantly cut the wage bill by allowing some of the bigger earners to move to teams in the Championship so there have been a lot of changes - but thankfully we're now starting to find our form.
Q:SO WHAT ARE THE REASONS BEHIND THE RECENT UP-TURN IN FORM?
A:The four back-to-back games we won gave the team a real boost in confidence and when you're winning matches you can't wait for the next one to come along. It's fair to say that nobody expected us to be towards the bottom of the table this season and the New Den is not an easy place to play when things aren't going well and I think some of the younger players at the club struggled to cope with the pressure.
Q:AND THE INJURY PROBLEMS APPEAR TO BE IMPOVING NOW?
A:Another reason behind our improved form is that we've managed to get some of the senior players – like Neil Ardley, Jody Morris and Neil Harris back fit. Everyone is delighted to see Neil back on the pitch – he's a big influence on and off the pitch and he loves this club. Having those guys back has certainly helped the younger players in the squad.
Q:ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED TO HAVE LOST YOUR PLACE IN THE SIDE?
A:Obviously you always want to play but when I signed for the club it was made clear to me that I might not be a regular starter and I fully understand that because Lenny Pidgeley is a very good keeper. I've only started seven games but I still fill part of things here and I'm really enjoying being back in London with my family and friends.
Q:DARREN BYFIELD SEEMS TO HAVE FOUND HIS GOALSCORING BOOTS OF LATE?
A:Strikers are judged on the goals they score and Darren has hit a rich vein of form over the last few months. He's been playing very well recently and his goals are an important reason behind those four wins we managed to pick up.
Q:ARE THE PLAY-OFFS OUT OF YOUR REACH THIS SEASON?
A:If we'd beaten Northampton we would have given ourselves an outside chance but, realistically, they are probably beyond us because we're just too many points behind. But we can't afford to rest on our laurels because we're only five points above the bottom four and by no means out of trouble yet.
