Millwall: Alfie Doughty interview on Lions' Premier League promotion push and a boyhood dream
Millwall defender Alfie Doughty explains how the Lions are in the mix for Premier League promotion thanks to manager Alex Neil and their team bond - and his dream as a fan to take them to the top tier; Watch Hull City vs Millwall on Saturday on Sky Sports+; kick-off 12.30pm
Friday 6 March 2026 16:13, UK
For Alfie Doughty, the dream could become reality. The boyhood Millwall fan is now a key part of a Millwall squad pushing for a first-ever promotion to the Premier League.
"If it was to happen, my God, it would be unbelievable," he says with a smile to Sky Sports.
It's a brief, rare moment during our conversation at Millwall's training ground in which Doughty imagines what it would be like to help the club - his club - into the top tier.
The emphasis, he insists, is always on the next match. Don't be affected by the talk of what might happen at the end of the season.
"We're in a happy place at the moment and we just want to stay there," he says. "We want to just focus on ourselves at the moment."
- 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
But the focus from outside is shifting onto Millwall now, too.
Manager Alex Neil has steered this team to fourth in the Championship and, ahead of a big Saturday lunchtime game at fifth-placed Hull, their prospects of promotion are gathering pace.
Doughty already knows what it takes to succeed in a Premier League push, having starred in Luton's rise three years ago.
An unfancied team, with less spending power than their rivals, searching for a first experience of Premier League football? The comparisons with Millwall are there to be made.
"I think I've come from two teams now that both play a pretty similar style," says Doughty, who signed for Millwall in the summer after three years at Luton.
"Hard to break down, counter-attack, big guys up top.
"Our clean sheet record at the moment is unbelievable. And I think that's what makes us. Defending our box is something that we really thrive on.
"And with Luton, it was exactly the same - and look where it took us."
On a personal level he is hungry for another taste of the Premier League.
"When it's in your mouth, it is something that you just have to get again. I really enjoyed it."
It would be even sweeter a second time around with Millwall.
"To do it with my boyhood club, that would be something exceptional. But as always, it's an 'if, but and maybe', isn't it?
"I didn't come here because I'm a Millwall fan. I came here because I know it's a great club."
With that, Doughty heads off for a session in the spring sunshine. The warm weather signals the arrival of the run-in. But Doughty and Millwall are aiming to go to the next level one step at a time.
