Although Shaun Hutchinson has cautioned that patience will be necessary, he is enthusiastic about the possibility of Joe Edwards leaving his philosophy on Millwall’s DNA.
During his seven years at the club, the captain is going through one of the most interesting changes. On Saturday, he could make his 250th appearance against Cardiff City.
The task assigned to head coach Edwards includes both achieving results and attempting to soften the look of the Lions’ play.
After missing thirteen games due to injury this season, Hutchinson thinks Millwall’s head coach is a practical man who will make smart changes.
He told NewsAtDen: “I think what makes teams great when you can mix it with both sets of styles. And I think Joe has made it very clear that he’s not coming in here to pass the ball between centre-back to keeper, centre-back to keeper for the whole game. That’s not what he wants.
“He just wants a little bit more control in games and passing through the lines. And you can go long but maybe go long with more of a purpose. He’s very aware of who Millwall are and he’s made that clear. He’s not coming in here to just start messing around with it at the back and just passing for the sake of passing, there’s always going to be a purpose as to why we’re doing it.
“As much as Joe has come in and he’s a great coach and we’re trying to change our identity a little bit, one thing that [is expected] regardless of who the manager is, is the hard work. Winning the 50/50s, winning your one-on-one battles, that’s the kind of thing where, regardless of the style of play, if you’re not doing them, you’re going to struggle.
“I just think at the moment we’ve just kind of come away from that and we need to make sure we still get the balance right. And if we can do that as well as progress with the possession, I think we could be a real decent team.”
He added: “Since he’s come in, the lads are thoroughly enjoying it and we’re trying to do what we can to work with him to get the results that we need. It’s never easy coming in in the middle of the season. When you have a pre-season when you can work with things, it’s very different.
“So I think it’s very important that fans and players are patient. As we’ve seen over the years with many top managers, a lot of them don’t get things clicking straight away, it takes a while.”
Hutchinson, 33, has experienced plenty during his years at The Den and, ahead of his latest milestone appearance, said the welcoming nature of Millwall made him want to dedicate years of his career to the club.
He said: “When I first joined, I came from Fulham when I didn’t feel as involved as I wanted to. Then Millwall opened their arms to me and ever since, they’ve been welcoming and done nothing but support me the whole time I’ve been here. I feel like when a club does that to you, you owe a loyalty and trust to them back.
“Ever since I walked through the door I’ve loved every part of it. Millwall gets me and I get Millwall and I think that combination speaks volumes.”
On the topic of his favourite memories at the club, Hutchinson points to the 2017 League One play-off final win over Bradford City.
A late goal by Steve Morison saw Millwall take a 1-0 win and promotion and Hutchinson sees the moment as a huge step in taking the Lions forward to now being an established, Championship outfit.
Hutchinson said: “You’re always going to look at the big occasions like the play-off final and things like that. And that was massive because the club have traditionally bounced up and down the leagues – Championship to League One – and I just think when I joined the club there was one aim: to get promoted. And not just to get promoted but to establish ourselves in this division over the long run.
“When I look back now at how different things could’ve been if we hadn’t won that game… My favourite winner would probably be that. I know there’s been FA Cup games and last-minute winners but in terms of what could have been, I just think how different things could have been. So I always think of that game as massively important.”
Back to the present day and Millwall have won just one of their last nine games, which covers the final match of Gary Rowett’s period as manager, Adam Barrett’s caretaker spell and the start of Edwards’ reign.
Hutchinson wants the players to find their confidence and believes better results are not that far away.
He said: “It only takes one or two results and then the confidence can get right back up there again.
“Me looking from the outside, it’s definitely something we need to improve in and find our confidence as players. Because I don’t think we’re particularly getting the best out of many of our players right now and I think Joe has seen that.
“He sees that there’s talent there and that there’s a good group there. I think it’s just about trying to get his message across but also at the same time, pick our confidence up a little bit and get us playing with a bit of confidence and freedom and spirit of what’s been good with us over the last few years.”
Be the first to comment