Millwall Reaction

Paul Jewell told the club's official website: "It was an important win for us because it was a vital game as it came after the win here over Ipswich. There was always the danger of it being an 'after the Lord Mayor's Show' type game but thankfully we displayed the right attitude and came through in the end. The first half was a complete non event in all honesty but we stepped it up after half time and eventually came out as worthy winners.

Paul Jewell

"It was always going to be awkward against Millwall as they are very good defensively and give little away. That means we had to be patient and I think we were. I'd have liked us to have played better obviously, but from here on in I don't much care how we play as long as we keep winning football matches. That's all that matters right now and we must continue to show the right attitude to do just that.

"It is all about keeping our focus and not getting carried away with what we are trying to achieve and that is what we are drumming into the players. Every match is going to be hard and it doesn't matter whether our opponents are at the top of the table or the bottom, our attitude must always be the same no matter what.

"Retaining our focus is vital as I said and that is the only reason why I have asked the players not to speak to the press at the moment. We do not want to get drawn into saying anything that might detract from our promotion ambitions and though I'm sure our lads wouldn't do that, I think it's just sensible to keep a lid on things from time to time.

"We can do all the talking we want if we do manage to complete the job that we are trying to do, but for now we must only have our eyes locked firmly on getting the right result at Brighton to consolidate our position at the top of the table."

Whilst his assistant Chris Hutchings added: "We certainly didn't hit any great heights but we improved enough in the second half to pick up all three points. Give credit to Millwall as they made it very hard for us before half time and limited our goalscoring opportunities. We never really set a high enough tempo to cause them problems and that was something that we spoke to the players about at the interval.

"A few things were said in the dressing room at half time and I thought we came out and were much better in the second half. We got the ball to Gary Teale in better areas and he was able to cause them problems, as he did when he won us the penalty. I thought we could have had a penalty just before that for the foul on Jason Roberts but thankfully we got one just after when 'Tealey' was brought down. It looked like a foul from where I was and they didn't seem to have too many complaints.

"It was another calm penalty from the 'Duke' and though the rest of us are a bit nervous as he runs up, he seems to have a technique that he's very comfortable with and he's a bit of a cool dude really isn't he? It was another big penalty at an important time but thankfully he's stuck it away and that got us going.

"I thought Jason Roberts was excellent once again and his goal showed what he is all about. He's shown great pace and power to get beyond two defenders and has then finished really calmly when he's got clear on goal. It was nice to see that go in as it made things more comfortable and meant we could relax a little bit.

"Though the strikers will get the plaudits the clean sheet is equally pleasing for us as we defended very well I thought. David Wright came in and did well in central defence while the other three in the back four were as consistent as ever. We didn't really get going today but I still think we were worthy winners as they didn't really create any chances.

"If we can continue to keep clean sheets we have half a chance of ending the season where we want to be, but there's still a long way to go yet. I think Graham Kavanagh showed why we have brought him in today as he plays things really simple out on the field and people in the know will tell you that that is often the hardst thing to do in the middle of a competitive football match. He's also a captain out on the field which will be vital for us as the season now moves towards an exciting climax.

"I know that both Sunderland and Ipswich have won today but we're not going to worry about them because it is all about what we do from now on. We will now focus on the game at Brighton on Tuesday night and go there looking to pick up another win. It'll be tough because they will be looking to bounce back from today's defeat at Plymouth, but we will go there believing that we can get the result we require. We must keep our focus and keep up the pressure. This is a big week with nine points to play for - we have taken the first three of the nine available and we must now go to Brighton to do all we can to make it six points out of six."

Dennis Wise and Ray Wilkins

Ray Wilkins - the Millwall assistant boss - told the Lions official site: : "We had worked very hard on the defensive side of things, especially when you are up against the likes of Ellington and Roberts. We felt that we had contained them very well indeed. In the first half we had a couple of little opportunities ourselves, but it wasn't to be.

"It was disappointing, but again the youngsters have come in, done themselves proud and done the club proud. It was always going to be extremely difficult with five players under 21, youthful to say the least. It was going to be tough, Wigan are flying and with their two strikers up front.

"We brought Big Bob on, there weren't many crosses for him to get on to though. We have to get in the right frame of mind that if and when we are behind in a game then we have to chase the game. It doesn't matter if you go and lose by four or five, you have to get a goal back and we didn't really go after the game. It was as if we settled to get beat 1-0 and that's not good enough. We have to make sure that we get after them and make it difficult for them."