JOE EDWARDS has invited Millwall fans to “dream” about climbing up the league but insists he’s thinking about the long-term.
Saturday’s stunning 4-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday has breathed new life into Millwall’s season which had been flagging in recent weeks.
It was Edwards’ first game in charge after he replaced Gary Rowett earlier this month and the result has potentially signalled a turnaround in form for the Lions and another run at the play-off positions.
Having come so close to reaching the top six last season, Millwall now sit in 15th position but just six points off sixth-placed Sunderland.
While Edwards is keen to make as big an impact as possible at The Den, he says his job is about more than just league positions.
He said: “From the minute I started speaking to the owner and the board, it wasn’t so much about targets in terms of league positions. It was where we wanted to head in terms of making this change and the fact that we’re heading in a different direction in terms of the style and the look of the team. That as we progress it might have an impact on the players that we’re using or the type of players we look to add to the squad in the future.
“Of course, this is a club and a team that have been pretty stable in recent years in terms of form and league position and finishing in the top half. So I would never play anything down too much. If we want to dream and focus on finishing as high as we can in the league, of course.
“Certainly from my point of view in these early weeks and months, if I’m honest I won’t really be acknowledging the league table too much. It’s very much about the process of building on all the good stuff that we saw on Saturday in terms of performance because there was a decent amount of it there but I want to see it more consistently.
“But then in terms of results we’ve got a few things to address and aim for. And now we’ve made a start in putting one win on the board, any team that gets to a place where they’re putting back-to-back wins in the Championship together is in a good place so that’s our immediate aim.”
The margin of victory represented Millwall’s biggest league win since August 2017 when they beat Norwich City 4-0 while it was the Lions biggest league win away from home since December 2015 when they hammered Southend United by the same scoreline.
Edwards said he is not worried about expectations becoming inflated by the scale of the win.
He said: “I’m not sure how much of a problem it will be. It was great after a difficult period for everyone to have that real enjoyment. Not just to get three points but get that real enjoyment in. Seeing goals, different goal scorers, being able to relax in the final stages of a football match and just enjoying seeing the team play but there are several things we have to acknowledge.
“We were dealing with an opponent that gave us a really difficult opening to the game but then they’re in a difficult moment themselves and for anyone who was in the stadium, that was clear. We’ll be coming up against teams soon that are in real strong form themselves.
“I’m experienced enough to know that, the players know that and I’m sure the fans understand that as well. It was great for us all to have an exciting start when it was day one of a new chapter for us all. But the Championship won’t be like that all the time and I think everyone will understand that.”
Speaking on Monday, Edwards said that already from the few training sessions he had with the players before the Sheffield Wednesday match, he felt a “strong connection” with them.
He said: “I’ve done three sessions and one game with them but I already feel like I’ve got quite a strong connection with the group and the team already. It’s been a big change but getting that first game underway was big and to start with a positive performance and result like that, hopefully that fills us with more excitement and promise of how we can build on it.”
