McCarthy Out to Stop Former Club Millwall From Setting New Away Record Monday, 2nd Apr 2018 06:00 Soon-to-be-departing Town boss Mick McCarthy will be out to prevent his former side Millwall establishing a new club record of seven successive Football League away victories when they visit Portman Road on Easter Monday. The Lions, McCarthy’s first club in management who he took charge of 26 years ago last month as his playing career came to an end, are eighth in the Championship, just one point off the play-offs, 11 points ahead of the 13th-placed Blues. As well as their league away winning run which stands at six going into the game, they are unbeaten anywhere in their last 13 games in the Championship, have won seven out of eight and their most recent four. “They’re absolutely buzzing,” McCarthy said after Town’s 1-0 defeat at Birmingham on Saturday. “I’ve just said to the lads that however we feel today, it’s finished now. We’ve had the first game after the announcement. “Now we’ve got Millwall. They’re bringing 2,000 fans, they create a great atmosphere. They are a really tough, hard-working team as much as anybody I’ve seen in the league. “I saw them against Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday. They were behind in both games, drew one against the team second in the league, beat Sheffield Wednesday and they are a right handful. “And they played [a day before us] as well, so it’ll make it even more of a handful. But we’ll be up for it.” McCarthy says he wants his team to win at least three more matches before he moves on at the end of the campaign. “Let’s crack on with the rest of the games and I just said to them, let’s try and win three games at least," he told BBC Radio Suffolk. "If we’ve got seven games, can we win three? All right, someone will say, can we win seven? But let’s be realistic about it. Win three of them and be unbeaten in a couple of others. Let’s have a good finish to the season.”
The Town boss says with the season over from a competitive perspective - and with the Blues desperately short of goals having failed to score in their last four games anywhere and for the first time in the club's history five in a row at Portman Road - young strikers Ben Morris, Ben Folami and Aaron Drinan could all play a part in the remaining seven matches of his tenure. Morris, 18, made two late sub appearances prior to the international break, his first Championship games having played alongside Folami, also 18, at Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup in August. The Australian is yet to appear in the league. Drinan, 19, who joined the Blues from Waterford in January, is still to add to his senior League of Ireland appearances. “It’s probably time to just have a look at them, to be quite honest," he added. “We’re not going up and we’re not going down. It might be time. “They’re all different, if I could put them all together and make one player we’d have an England international.
“They’ve all got different qualities. I would say Ben Morris is the better finisher, so I hear the screams, ‘Well, put him in the team’. But he’s still a kid. “Ben Folami’s bigger and more powerful, he played at Crystal Palace, he did all right, he can stick the ball. Aaron would be more of a threat running behind a bit like Freddie, and an aerial threat.” With Town having played only two days ago McCarthy is likely to make a number of changes. However, Bartosz Bialkowski will continue in goal and the Blues boss will probably stick with his regular back three of Cameron Carter-Vickers, skipper Luke Chambers and Adam Webster. Similarly, with Dominic Iorfa out with a groin problem which could sideline him for the rest of the campaign, Jordan Spence is likely to again be at right wing-back with Jonas Knudsen on the left. In midfield, Cole Skuse looks set to stay in his usual holding role but Luke Hyam and Stephen Gleeson could come into the team for Callum Connolly and Grant Ward. Up front, Freddie Sears could drop out in favour of Mustapha Carayol or Bersant Celina, or Morris if McCarthy opts to give the youngster - who appears to be ahead of Folami and Drinan in the pecking order at present - his full debut.
Martyn Waghorn looks set to keep his place with McCarthy short of senior striking options in the absence of Joe Garner (head, shoulder and knee) and David McGoldrick (groin), who along with midfielders Emyr Huws (knee), Andre Dozzell (knee) and Teddy Bishop (hamstring), and goalkeeper Dean Gerken (hip). In addition to that list and Iorfa, midfielder Tom Adeyemi remains out with his hamstring injury and also now appears unlikely to feature again this season. Millwall boss Neil Harris is also pondering changes following Friday’s 2-0 home victory over Nottingham Forest. “There will be very limited training for the players that have played,” he told NewsAtDen. “I’ve got to pick a team on Monday to focus on the opposition but also to make sure is fresh. “I’ve made one change to my starting line-up in eight games, Tom Elliott started for Steve Morison at Hull. Now might be a time to make those changes, we will have to see. “We will give the players the opportunity to recover. Birmingham play Ipswich [on Saturday] so Ipswich have 24 hours less recovery time than us.” Midfielder Ben Thompson (ankle) and defender Byron Webster (knee) are both set to miss out for the visitors due to injury, while forward Harry Smith is taking time away from football for personal reasons. Manager Harris, the Lions’ all-time top scorer in his playing days, says he has a lot of time for his Town counterpart McCarthy. “I’ve been to Ipswich three times this year and I’ve seen Mick working tirelessly to get it right,” he added.
“He is a great football man, I’ve got huge amount of respect for him and what he has achieved in the game playing, coaching and managing. “I really look forward to standing alongside him on Monday in the dugout. I see Mick at games and if I can get a coffee with him, brilliant. He’s got those words of wisdom and knowledge and listening to his opinion on things is important. “But the focus for us is all about what happens on the football pitch and us trying to get three more points.” 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.
Blues striker Waghorn spent time on loan at the Den in the 2013/14 season when a Leicester player, scoring three goals in 13 starts and one sub appearance. Millwall midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe spent a stint on loan with the Blues in the first half of the 2013/14 season when with Manchester United, making 24 starts and five sub appearances without scoring. He joined the Lions last last summer following his release by Fulham, Town having shown interest earlier in pre-season but without making a contract offer. The sides are closely-matched historically, Town having won 21 games (17 in the league), Millwall 19 (18) and with 13 (13) having ended in draws. In August at the Den, Spence headed an 88th minute winner as the Blues ran out 4-3 winners of a remarkable game. The Lions went ahead through Jed Wallace in the opening minute, Garner equalised three minutes later before Martyn Waghorn put the Blues in front, Aiden O’Brien levelled for the home side, then Waghorn restored Town’s lead in first-half injury time. Millwall made it 3-3 via sub Tom Elliott but Spence won it with his first goal for the Blues with two minutes remaining. The teams last met at Portman Road in September 2014 when strike pair McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy were on target as the Blues beat Millwall 2-0. McGoldrick put Town in front in first half injury time and Murphy added the second in the 63rd minute. Monday’s referee is Stephen Martin from Staffordshire, who has shown 79 yellow cards and two red in 34 games so far this season. Martin’s last Town match was the 1-1 draw at Barnsley in March last year when Skuse was shown the game’s only yellow card. Two months earlier he had been in charge of the 1-1 draw at Preston in which he booked two home players and no Blues. Martin also refereed the 1-0 defeat at Leeds in September 2016 in which he booked only Christophe Berra and Kevin Bru. Before that Martin was the man in the middle of the 2-0 defeat at Brentford the previous month in which he yellow-carded Adam Webster. Martin also officiated in the 1-0 home defeat to Rotherham in March last year, in which he booked Knudsen and one Miller. He also took control of the 2-1 home victory over Fulham on the opening day of 2014/15 in which he cautioned Tyrone Mings, Berra and Hyam. Martin also refereed the 2-0 home victory over Brighton in September 2013, when he booked only one visiting player, and the 2-1 loss at Bristol City in the January of that year, in which he showed a single yellow card to one of the home side. Squad from: Bialkowski, M Crowe, Spence, Kenlock, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Carter-Vickers, Webster, Skuse, Connolly, Hyam, Bru, Gleeson, Nydam, Ward, Celina, Carayol, Waghorn, Sears, Morris, Drinan, Folami.
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