Millwall: Five factors behind Lions' unlikely push for promotion to the Premier League with Championship play-off place already assured
Millwall can go back into the automatic promotion places in the Championship with a positive result on Friday night; We pick out some of the key factors behind their Premier League push; Watch Leicester vs Millwall live on Sky Sports Football on Friday; kick-off 7.45pm.
Thursday 23 April 2026 16:59, UK
Millwall have a first-ever promotion to the Premier League in their sights.
A Championship play-off spot is already secured and an automatic promotion place remains within their grasp.
They will go second with a win or draw at Leicester on Friday night, live on Sky Sports, putting the pressure back on promotion rivals Ipswich, who currently hold that position on goal difference and with a game in hand over the Lions. The Tractor Boys, though, face a trickier run-in - on paper.
So how have Millwall - with their lower mid-table budget and wage bill - got themselves into this lofty position? We pick out five factors driving them upwards…
Neil knows
Any assessment of Millwall's progress must start with the manager. There has been financial support from chairman James Berylson, while director of football Steve Gallen has led a successful recruitment campaign in recent windows. But Neil has pulled it all together and created a team to be reckoned with.
- Got Sky? Watch your EFL team on the Sky Sports app
- Not got Sky? Stream your EFL team with no contract
- Championship fixtures | Championship table | Championship highlights
At the business end of this season, his experience has been key. With three successful play-off campaigns under his belt (in Scotland, League One and the Championship), he has been able to manage the mentality of a group of players largely unfamiliar with what it takes to make this next step.
"I never encourage the players to read and listen to what people say. We only focus on what's in front of us. We don't get carried away with anything," he says about keeping the team grounded. But their success is no surprise to him.
"I understand how important it is to the club, I understand how important it is to the fans, it's certainly important to me, it's important to the players. But when you work every single day, every single minute to get somewhere, you don't sit there as if you've won the lottery, because it's not fortune, it's hard graft every single day for every single person at the club."
Neil has also encouraged his players to revel in the opportunity they have created. "Embrace it, really enjoy it, don't let it pass you by."
For a club that has finished in the top half of the Championship six times in the past eight seasons without making the play-offs, Neil's know-how - technically and tactically on the field and in managing the situation - has been crucial for Millwall.
Captain Cooper and strong bonds
Millwall were last in the Championship play-offs 24 years ago. Speaking to the man who took them there, Mark McGhee, this week, his lasting memory was not just the quality of that 2001/02 team but the spirit they shared and the friendships between them, which still last until today.
This current Millwall crop have similar bonds. "They fight for each other, they care for each other, they support each other," says Neil.
Captain Jake Cooper sets the tone. The longest-serving player but still the first at the training ground each day. Ten years into his time at Millwall, the towering centre-back is leading his team-mates to new heights.
There have been jokes about his mullet haircut - but it epitomises the relaxed mood in the camp, midfielder Massimo Luongo said this month. There is talent in this squad but, united behind Cooper, they are worth more than the sum of their parts.
A mean defence
Cooper is also exceptionally good at what he does on the pitch, ranking second in the Championship for aerial duels won and fifth for clearances. He carries significant attacking threat from set-pieces but also marshals a backline that has the joint-best defensive record in the division.
With Caleb Taylor his regular centre-back partner, and Zak Sturge and Tristan Crama impressing at full-back, Millwall have kept the most clean sheets (17) in the league.
They are well protected by the relentless running of midfielder Casper De Norre and the combination is a foundation upon which the promotion challenge has been built.
Away-day record breakers
Those defensive numbers are even more impressive on the road - just 23 goals conceded in 22 games.
The lazy cliché is to say "Millwall: tough place to go". But it's proved even tougher for opposition sides when Millwall have come to town.
They top the table when results away from home are ranked, with a club-record 11 wins achieved beyond the Den.
Away games suit their strengths: a tight defence, a set-piece threat and counter-attack options. Consecutive games at Ipswich and Middlesbrough either side of the March international break, in which Millwall took four points off their promotion rivals, underlined their ability to perform wherever they are.
Azeez and the attacking difference-makers
Of course, all of that hard work, team unity and defensive fight only takes you so far. You need some magic, too.
Femi Azeez has been the chief conjurer. Named in the EFL Championship team of the year (along with Crama), Azeez has nine goals and seven assists so far this season. Whether he's cutting in from the right to shoot with his favoured left foot or going around the outside to cross, Azeez has been a handful for opposition defences all season.
More recently, No 10 Camiel Neghli has come to the party, too, producing four goal involvements in his last six appearances, belatedly showing off the technical talents which caught the eye in the Eredivisie.
The pair offer creativity and craft around the tireless strikers Josh Coburn and Mihailo Ivanovic, who have 18 goals between them and many, many kilometres under their feet.
The verdict: Underrated Neil must help Lions avoid a late slip-up
Sky Sports' Gary Weaver on the Essential EFL podcast:
"Millwall's away form has been excellent, the best in the Championship, 40 points this season. They've won 23 of their 43 games, only Coventry have won more.
"Alex Neil is so underrated. Tactically magnificent. He switched things around against Middlesbrough and got to grips with their shape.
"Millwall will try to set up a massive final day at home to Oxford.
"It's a strange situation, and Leicester boss Gary Rowett could land a blow on his former club. Millwall are going to a club in a mess, but it's the Championship, you get strange results at this time of the season."
