Gary Rowett happy with point against Wycombe as key players remain absent

Posted Sunday, February 21, 2021 by PA

Millwall boss Gary Rowett was happy to settle for a point after a 0-0 draw with bottom side Wycombe.

In the absence of any real quality, Scott Malone came closest to sneaking a win for the hosts while Wycombe’s best chance was in the form of a penalty claim, which referee Jarred Gillett showed little interest in.

The Lions have enjoyed an upturn in form and are now unbeaten in eight league games with Saturday afternoon’s result their fourth draw in that time.

And Rowett believes that the result may have been different if his current injury list did not include the likes of Jake Cooper, Kenneth Zohore and Ryan Leonard.

“We are missing key players at the moment but we’ve got to muddle through. Our last few games have been heavily physical and it’s been difficult to break free in those. It’s up to our forward players to play with quality and composure and if you don’t do that then you have to settle for a point.

“In terms of passing the ball I think we actually did that better than we did against Birmingham and we had most of the control,” said Rowett.

“I don’t think Wycombe really troubled us too much but our quality in the final third wasn’t good enough today. We huffed and puffed but we couldn’t convert anything into a chance or an opportunity on goal.

“It’s four wins and four draws now for us and I actually looked at today and thought it could be a bit of a banana skin that might undo us. I am disappointed with the quality of course but I’m not too disappointed with the point.

Rowett appeared animated on the touchline during the game, especially when the Lions appealed for a penalty of their own, but insisted his remonstration was more out of frustration than disagreeing with the referee.

“I’ve seen them both (penalty incidents) and neither was a penalty,” he added and continued to joke: “Sometimes you need a bit of excitement in your life and shouting at the referee is as good as it gets at the moment. I can’t go down the pub and enjoy a glass of wine or a pint so it’s just a bit of frustration coming out.”

Meanwhile, Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth is not about to hit the panic button either, despite his side sitting at the foot of the table.

The Chairboys are now 11 points adrift of safety but Ainsworth believes that if his players continue to fight, the 16 remaining fixtures will be enough to save them from relegation.

“We could always do with three points,” he said. “The boys were hard done by in midweek but a clean sheet away from home at Millwall and if we were offered that at the start of the season we’d have took it.

“Neither team really got the ball down and played and Millwall paid us a huge amount of respect by playing five at the back so they were very difficult to break down.

“This game won’t live long in the memory but if we can win against Reading, it becomes a fantastic result for us.

“There’s still plenty of games to go and it’s still in our hands so that’s good. There’s plenty of games left for us to stay up and if we keep playing the way we have done in the last three games we will have a right go.”