Joe Edwards: Millwall boss sees 'glimpses to give belief'
- Published
Millwall have won one of five games under Joe Edwards
Millwall head coach Joe Edwards says he has seen enough "glimpses" to suggest his team can turn their form around.
Edwards won his first game in charge after replacing Gary Rowett in November but the Lions have not won in four in the Championship since then.
The 1-0 defeat at Cardiff on Saturday was a third loss in that time, leaving Millwall only two points above the relegation zone.
"At the moment we are in a bit of a rut," Edwards told BBC Radio London.
"Some of our players' final decisions, final passes, lack a bit of belief, lack a bit of form, which prevented us from really getting a foothold in the game (at Cardiff) to create sustained attacks.
"There are enough glimpses to give me belief. There are players out there that I can see are low in form, and at some point that will come good.
"When they do the result will be different for us."
Edwards, who won his first Millwall match 4-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, was part of the coaching set up under Frank Lampard at Chelsea and Everton, and also managed England Under-20s before being appointed at The Den.
Prior to his arrival, the Lions had only won four of their opening 15 league matches and Edwards said changing mindsets would take time, as was apparent to him at Cardiff.
"Some of the players are aware that we are a group in that period where you need the ricochet, or the second ball dropping for you in a key area, when it doesn't feel like it's quite going for us," he said.
"Without feeling sorry for ourselves, you can still make your own luck, and our own decision-making and generally quality wasn't worthy of winning a game.
"When you're away from home and see it's not your day, what you don't do is lose the game, and we lose it on a set-piece which is unusual for us and disappointing for any team to lose it that way."
Millwall 'not playing well enough'
Saturday's defeat left Millwall one of three sides - alongside Stoke City and Huddersfield Town - level on 21 points, only two points above the relegation zone where the Lions' London rivals Queens Park Rangers sit third from bottom.
"The first thing you have to do is stick together and it's going to be a tough period," Edwards added.
"We know that in this industry there is a lot of noise around it and people will be pointing out that we are close to the relegation zone, we don't need to get drawn into that.
"We need to focus on our ideas and work, and you have to be brave and stand up and face it when you're going onto the pitch and hope the general level of performance can raise because clearly at the moment we are not playing well enough to accumulate many points.
"I see the players on the training pitch and I know there's quality in there and the flip side of that is I know there's more in some of the players.
"Although this is a new challenge for me, and a new journey between a coaching staff and a group of players, it's still in the thick of the season where you need to pick up results.
"So, as much as I'm taking stuff from it, I'm well aware that we need to start putting more points on the board as well."