Ian Holloway has issued an apology to those Millwall fans who had to witness their team suffer an embarrassing defeat on Saturday.
Millwall had won just one of their previous 14 matches in the Championship ahead of this weekend, but had hoped to build on two successive draws when Middlesbrough travelled to the capital on Saturday afternoon. However, the Lions were strictly second best to the team from Teesside, who were 4-0 up at half-time before dropping a gear in the second half to run out 5-1 winners.
Holloway had adopted a three-man defence for the visit of Aitor Karanka’s, and this is a decision he now regrets. Speaking after the match, the 51-year-old took full responsibility for this heavy defeat, which leaves them two points above the drop zone, whilst also issuing an apology to the supporters and revealing it was probably the worst day in his footballing life which began in 1980.
“I apologise to the supporters for that performance,” Holloway, who has been in charge of the London club since 6 January of this year, is quoted on the Sky Sports website. “That team was unrecognisable. I won’t blame anybody because the responsibility is mine. I’m shocked and horrified. It was an awful day, probably my worst in football. But it will make us stronger.”
Millwall will get an early opportunity to recover from this defeat when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday night, a match which will be televised on Sky Sports 1. The Seagulls were on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline against Bournemouth on Saturday, but Sami Hyypia will know they will leapfrog Holloway’s side if they collect maximum points in five days’ time.
Millwall fans, do you still trust Holloway to get things right at your club? Let us know what you think by joining in with the discussion below.
