Gary Rowett: Millwall under no pressure to sell Jed Wallace

Posted Friday, December 27, 2019 by PA

Millwall manager Gary Rowett insists he will not be forced to sell star man Jed Wallace in January after his free-kick rescued a point in a 1-1 draw at Cardiff.

After a poor first half, the hosts took control on the hour thanks to Aden Flint’s close-range goal.

Left-back Joe Bennett swung in a corner that was flicked on by Marlon Pack at the front post and there was nobody tracking the run of Flint as he ghosted into the six-yard box unmarked to tap the ball in.

But Wallace once again showcased his set-piece quality to level the scores shortly afterwards.

Pack hauled down Shaun Williams to give Wallace a dangerous dead-ball opportunity, and the Lions star stepped up to fire an unstoppable free-kick past Neil Etheridge and into the top corner to level the scores.

It was his ninth goal of an impressive season and Wallace is attracting interest from Premier League and rival Championship clubs, but Rowett is confident the Lions can hold onto the 25-year-old.

He said: “January will come at a good time for us because we are maybe running out of a little bit of steam in one or two positions. It will be nice to make one or two additions if possible.

“I expect interest in the players who are performing well. If you are doing your job properly and players are performing, then you expect other teams to be interested in those players.

“Our job is to make players attractive to other teams because they are playing well. What I would say is that we are not a selling club. The owner has made it clear that we don’t need to sell players.

“We don’t want to lose any of our better players. We want to try and add some more players to help those we have to see if we can achieve something this season.

“Those moments like the one from Jed are the difference when games are tight. We’ve had 11 games and taken 19 points so our form has been really good and we’re progressing well.”

The draw extended Cardiff’s winless run to four games, and manager Neil Harris has demanded more from his attacking players.

The former Millwall manager said: “We are creating chances – 13 today and several on target – but are they clear-cut? Are we making them in open play?

“Do I want more from my wide players? Yeah I do. Do I expect more? Yes I do. That’s the demand.

“Today we had more opportunities on goal, but not as clear-cut as I would like.

“In the final third, maybe that’s when you need more moments, a bit of interplay, one-v-one ability.

“We had it in moments, but did we have it enough? That’s where we’ve got to be better and that costs money in the Championship.

“Overall I’m pleased with the performance, but I’d like to see us create a little bit more in the final third.

“We stood strong against the counter-attack – set-plays were the only real opportunity to score today. We defended the free-kicks and corners well.

“We gave very limited opportunity to Jed Wallace on the counter-attack. But ultimately what’s cost us today is Jed scoring a goal from 30 yards which is a top-quality strike.”