Joe Edwards says Millwall did not get the basics right in home loss to Coventry

Posted Sunday, November 26, 2023 by PA

Joe Edwards believes Millwall failed to get the basics right in their 3-0 home loss to Coventry in the Sky Bet Championship.

Matt Godden’s close-range header gave the Sky Blues the advantage midway through a closely fought first half at The Den.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto doubled the visitors’ lead in the 67th minute before Ben Sheaf made sure of things with two minutes remaining.

The result was Edwards’ first defeat as Millwall manager and leaves his team 18th in the table.

He said: “Overall, I would still say that we should be pretty disappointed with the performance because I think there were a lot of the basics, basics that this team are usually good at.

“There were a lot of duels in the middle of the pitch, second balls and players running off us in transition.

“It is just basic work ethic and basics of the game regardless of what kind of style of play you deploy as a team.

“We did not do well enough and they looked sharper than us, so I am still disappointed.

“3-0 was probably a harsh scoreline, but we were on the other end of that ourselves in our last game, we were clinical and won 4-0 so that is how it can go.

“There are definitely positives to take, we have spoken about being on the front foot and being aggressive here at The Den.

“The big thing for me today was us with the ball, we had a lot more of the ball than a Millwall team would typically have, and at times we looked composed and like we had a clear idea of how we wanted to build up.

“But in the opponent’s half and particularly in the final third we did not ask nearly as many questions as you need to ask of an opponent’s back four here at The Den, that was the disappointment.”

The result was Coventry’s first win since the start of October, only their second away triumph of the season, and leaves them 20th in the table.

However, manager Mark Robins felt it was well earned after some unfortunate results on the road.

“We have been in every game this season, we went to Leicester away on the first day of the season and could have won that,” he said.

“We have got good players but it does dent confidence a little bit, that’s just been it.

“They have trained really well in the last nine days, and you could see that they had the bit between their teeth, they were really courageous with the ball.

“The fact that we have kept two clean sheets on the bounce is another positive, we have got a tough run of games before the run into Christmas which is really heavy.

“Everybody has got to be ready, we have got a decent squad there that are all fit, that is a positive and the performance and the result today were also positives.

“I felt we were really good today, it is a difficult place to come at the best of times and on the back of not too many wins.

“When you have got the bit between your teeth, the players are all on the front foot, you could see that they were confident today.

“There was no lack of confidence, they’re good players, they’re positive and when they’re positive and have that courage they can hurt teams at this level.”