DON Hutchison hopes Millwall challenge for a play-off place – despite his West Ham United links and the “worst move of my life” signing for the Lions.
Hutchison, 54, played for the Hammers from 1994 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2005, the latter move a club-record £5million deal from Sunderland. He scored seventeen goals in 105 appearances across the two spells.
After leaving Upton Park in 2005 he signed for Millwall in a surprise move given the supporters’ hatred of each other.
Former Scotland international Hutchison made eleven Championship appearances for the Lions, scoring twice, and three appearances in the League Cup.
Hutchison left Millwall by mutual consent that November to find more regular first-team football, before he joined Coventry City in January 2006.
Millwall have been ambitious over the last three transfer windows, breaking their transfer record three times.
The Lions – who have missed out on the top six on the final day three times in the last four seasons – are currently eighth in the table after nine games, a point off the top six, under Alex Neil.
“I hope they do it,” Hutchison said, speaking to OnlineCasinos.com. “I didn’t have a great time there. I was from West Ham and they hated me for it, and I couldn’t stand it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame them at all, but it was the worst move I made in my life.
“I’ve got no hostility towards them, but that’s just how a career is sometimes.
“Alex Neil, I see him bringing stability, the run of results they’ve been on now mean that promotion is possible. Why not? The Championship is a crazy league, because if you put a run together you shoot up the table. If you lose, there’s another game in three days’ time and you can get three points right away and put the defeat out of your mind. Any side could beat you, but it means that you can beat anyone too.
“So if Millwall put a run together, they can ride it as far as possible.”
Don Hutchison became a media pundit after retiring in 2008
Meanwhile, West Ham have had a troubled start to their season. They sacked Graham Potter with the side in the relegation zone, appoint former Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
“To be honest, the current West Ham squad is one of the worst they’ve had for years,” Hutchison said. “Graham Potter was given an awful squad to do something with, and now it’s Nuno’s problem.
“Fundamentally, the owners need to take a serious look at themselves. In my opinion, they need to back the manager with top-class players. Second of all, the owners – and I know this will never happen – need to give the club their own stadium, a home.
“It’s desperately sad seeing it as a former West Ham player, but renting an athletics stadium after moving away from their own ground is a dreadful thing.
“Manchester United would never move out from Old Trafford just to rent a stadium. Liverpool wouldn’t do that at Anfield, and Newcastle wouldn’t either. For some reason, the owners felt it was acceptable at West Ham. I can only see them repeating their problems with managers until they build the club a stadium.”
Hutchison added: “I think it’s time they sell up. I think David Sullivan and Karren Brady are focused on making money more than they are focused on doing what is best for West Ham. They will not build the fans a home. How can a football club not have a home? They should figure out how to build a stadium and give the club a legacy to build on from their ownership.
“Daniel Levy, for all his critics, he has given Tottenham one of the world’s best training facilities and a great new stadium. That’s a real legacy. What has David Sullivan got? He delivered a Conference League trophy, but that tournament wasn’t even in existence when he promised European success, so the bar must have been higher? It’s an achievement, but he can’t suggest it’s the same thing, or what he meant.
“I’ve met David Sullivan a couple of times before, and if I met him again, I’d implore him to give the fans a stadium of their own. The supporters who have been with them for decades, they need that.”
