Town boss Mick McCarthy expects the Millwall players will have Lions manager Ian Holloway’s voice ringing in their ears as they look to end their recent disastrous run of form by beating the Blues at the Den on Saturday.
Millwall have dropped to 22nd in the table, are without a win in their last six games in all competitions, losing their last four in the league, recorded their most recent home victory on October 25th and on Wednesday were thrashed 4-0 away by League One Bradford in an FA Cup third round replay.
"They went up there and they had their centre-half sent off [Mark Beevers] after six minutes and they got beaten 4-0,” McCarthy said. "That doesn’t help or ease his situation at all.
"The only way he can ease that is by getting a result and that’s by beating us and I think they’ll be having his voice echoing in their ears and their fans will be demanding of them on Saturday, as they always are. That doesn’t make it any easier for us, not at all.”
He says his old club actually had a decent start to the season: "They did and I don’t think there’s a lot between any of the teams. I don’t know what circumstances Ollie’s had, he’s been trying to change players around, that’s not always easy, getting new players in.
"When he’s really needed it to be going well he’s had players sent off. He had Shaun Williams sent off the other week [at Bournemouth] and he had Mark Beevers sent off at Bradford. It just seems when things are going badly they go from bad to worse sometimes.”
But while he is being asked questions about Millwall’s poor form, McCarthy says reporters in South London will be quizzing Holloway on Town’s back to back defeats to Derby and Southampton.
"Somebody will be at the Den telling Ollie that these have lost two on the bounce and if you can get off to a good start we know what the Millwall fans will be like,” he added.
"If they can get in front against the team in third the place will be rocking. But I also know that if we can stop that and we get the first goal they can turn on their players very quickly.”
The Millwall game is the first of four against teams in the bottom six with a trip to 19th-placed Brighton on Wednesday before Wigan, who are 23rd, visit Portman Road on the final day of January and then February starts with a game at 20th-placed Rotherham.
"That’ll be easy then, won’t it? Really easy!” McCarthy joked. "All of them scrapping like hell to stay in the league!
"I can’t ever remember having an easy game at the New Den, that’s for sure. Brighton, Chris Hughton has taken over and they’re unbeaten since.
"The league is relentless and I don’t think there’s a great deal between any of us, I really don’t.
"Maybe the difference between us has been the fact that we’ve got goalscorers at the minute and we’ve had solid performances.
"I don’t think it’s going to make it any easier. But I’d like to think it’s going to be easier than playing against Southampton the other night because they are a good side.”
McCarthy has midfield duo Cole Skuse and Jay Tabb available again after illness but Teddy Bishop remains sidelined but could be back for the trip to the Amex in midweek. Keeper Dean Gerken is out for a month with a hip injury.
The Town boss will continue with Bartosz Bialkowski in goal with skipper Luke Chambers at right-back and Tyrone Mings on the left with Christophe Berra and Tommy Smith at the heart of the defence.
In midfield, Skuse will return to his holding role in place of Luke Hyam with Kevin Bru likely to be alongside him in Bishop’s absence, the Mauritian international having impressed in Wednesday’s FA Cup replay.
Tabb and Paul Anderson seem likely to replace Stephen Hunt and Darren Ambrose on the left and right respectively.
Daryl Murphy will start up front, although David McGoldrick is expected to miss out with a knee problem. Noel Hunt could be in line for a first start for the Blues with new signing Freddie Sears probably on the bench. Town are continuing discussions with Leeds regarding the loan signing of Billy Sharp.
In Gerken’s absence 19-year-old Michael Crowe will be the sub keeper but with McCarthy looking for more experienced back-up. One potential loanee, ex-Blue Lewis Price, has joined Crawley.
Millwall boss Holloway is promising changes in the wake of Wednesday’s defeat to Bradford.
"I didn't like what I saw on Wednesday night at all,” he told the Lions club site. "Quite often ten men can respond to adversity and put in a performance full of passion and pride. But that didn't happen and it was the worst I've ever seen I think from a team of mine.
"So this is the time for action and I, along with the chairman and [chief executive] Andy Ambler, am going to make as many changes as possible to give our fans the type of team they want to see play.
"We're going to make some decisions to change this around - it's what I'm paid to do. The atmosphere around the place has gone right back to how it was before arrived.
"I've been brought here to make sure we have a team that works hard, keeps fighting and always does a stint. This is my Millwall now, and if there are people just content to see out their contracts they're messing with the wrong person.
"I can only say I apologise for the other night because I have never seen one of my teams capitulate like that. There was only player who came out with any credit.”
New signings Shaun Cummings, a right-back who has joined from Reading, and on-loan Watford striker Diego Fabbrini could make their Lions debuts in what’s likely to be a much-changed team. Former Blue Dan Harding will be making his home debut.
Winger Paris Cowan-Hall is a big doubt with a calf injury, while defender Mark Beevers and midfielder Shaun Williams are both banned, while ex-Town skipper Carlos Edwards (knee) and midfielder Nicky Bailey (calf) also miss out.
Blues manager McCarthy was a Millwall player at the end of his career between 1990 and 1992, when he took over as boss. He remained manager at the Den until 1996 when he took charge of the Republic of Ireland.
McCarthy’s record as manager of the Lions reads played 203, won 74, drew 70 and lost 59. In 1993/94 they finished third in what’s now the Championship but lost out to Derby County in the play-off semi-finals.
Town U21s coach Mark Kennedy started his playing career with Millwall, making 46 starts and eight sub appearances and scoring 12 goals between 1992 and 1995.
Ex-Town captain Edwards joined the Lions in the summer after being released by Town, having spent a successful loan spell at the Den last season. The 36-year-old Trinidad and Tobago international is out for the season with a knee ligament injury.
Ed Upson, who scored the winning goal in Town’s 2005 FA Youth Cup triumph while still a schoolboy, joined the Lions from Yeovil in January. Now 25, Bury St Edmunds-born Upson made two League Cup sub appearances for the Blues before being released in 2010 when he joined the Glovers.
Former Town loan striker Ricardo Fuller signed for Millwall last summer after leaving Blackpool.
Fuller, 34, scored two goals in three games while on loan with the Blues from Southampton at the end of the 2005/06 season, also picking up a red card while at Portman Road.
Then-boss Joe Royle wanted to sign him on a permanent basis but the £500,000 fee was beyond Town’s means and the Jamaican joined Stoke City. Lee Martin joined Millwall after leaving Portman Road in the summer of 2013.
Ex-Town left-back Dan Harding recently joined the Lions on loan from Nottingham Forest.
The sides are closely-matched historically, Millwall having won 19 games (18 in the league) and Town 19 (15), while 13 (13) have ended in draws.
In September at Portman Road, strike pair McGoldrick and Murphy were on target as the Blues beat Millwall 2-0 at Portman Road. McGoldrick put Town in front in first half injury time and Murphy added the second in the 63rd minute.
When the teams last met at the Den in January last year debutant right-back Ryan Fredericks netted freak goal shortly before the break to see Millwall to a deserved 1-0 victory.
Town, who had midfielder Luke Hyam stretchered off early on, were second best for the most part and would have lost by a greater margin had former Blues winger Martin not spurned a 70th minute chance.
The Blues are again taking another away following in excess of 2,500 with tickets available on the gate on the day.
Saturday’s referee is Graham Salisbury from Lancashire, who has shown 76 yellow cards and three red in 20 games so far this season.
Coincidentally, Salisbury’s most recent Town match was the 3-0 home victory over the Lions in August 2013 when he booked one player from each side.
Squad from: Bialkowski, Crowe, Chambers (c), Mings, Parr, Berra, Smith, Clarke, Skuse, Hyam, Bru, Ambrose, Tabb, S Hunt, Anderson, Stewart, McGoldrick, Murphy, N Hunt, Sears, Bajner.