'Esse sale both a problem and an opportunity'

Romain Esse's big-money move to near neighbours Crystal Palace, believed to total £14.5m including potential add-ons, creates both an opportunity and a problem for the Lions.

An opportunity to build on the so-called new Millwall project of buying in talent cheaply, developing it and then selling it on at a profit.

But also a problem, in that Romain was one of our few creative players within a squad that has scored the least goals so far in the Championship this season.

After Saturday's dire home loss to relegation-threatened Hull City, the Lions go into tonight's home fixture with Cardiff City badly in need of a win.

It's a hard truth in football that whilst it's wonderful to work toward a long-term plan, you have to keep your focus on the next match and the three invaluable points that are at stake.

It's another harsh fact that if you don't create and score goals, then it's all too easy in the highly competitive Championship to find yourself drawn into a dogfight to stay out of League One.

A scrap that we look ill-equipped to handle judging by Saturday's poor showing.

New manager Alex Neil, working in tandem with director of football Steve Gallen, must find a way for Millwall to grind out toward the magic 50-point mark that traditionally means Championship safety.

Otherwise there's every danger that Lions' money will have to be spent rebuilding from the third tier of English football.