Millwall

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Millwall head coach Alex Neil spoke after his side's 1-0 home defeat against Hull City in the Championship.

He said: "Ultimately the game got decided on a cross that hit one of our lads' heels and deflects in at the front post, and it ends up being the winning goal.

"From that perspective, it's really, really frustrating because if you get done with a bit of quality or if you get done by them performing better and creating numerous opportunities to comfortably win the game, you go 'OK, we need to be better.'

"But it was a scrappy game decided on an unfortunate moment for us, in my opinion.

"We're stretched at the top end of the pitch – I think anybody can see that.

"We've just sold Romain (Esse) for a lot of money, we've got Femi (Azeez) who's currently not available for us just now. We've got Calum Scanlon who's literally trained for one week, and he's a left-back and I've got him playing left wing, so it's not easy."

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Signing forward Aaron Connolly from Sunderland was a "no brainer" for Millwall, says Lions head coach Alex Neil.

Republic of Ireland international Connolly's move to The Den was announced shortly after Tom Bradshaw's exit to Oxford United had been confirmed on Thursday.

Connolly, 24, joined the Black Cats from Hull City in the summer but only scored two goals in 11 appearances for the club.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's Championship fixture against the Tigers, Neil said it was "fair to say" Connolly had not played as much as he would have liked at the Stadium of Light.

"With Tom leaving we needed to get in a replacement, we needed to make sure we had competition for places and Aaron became available on a short-term deal," he told BBC Radio London.

"It made sense - [they have] similar profiles in terms of a striker who can take the ball on; stocky, quick over the ground over the first five-to-10 yards, got a goal in him, so from our perspective it was a bit of a no-brainer.

"Hopefully Aaron can come in and hit the ground [running] between now and the end of the season."

Neil said he thought Connolly would "certainly be available" for selection against Hull after the player came through 120 minutes in Sunderland's extra-time 2-1 FA Cup defeat by Stoke City.

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Tom Bradshaw was a "great servant" for Millwall and moves to Oxford United with the club's best wishes, says head coach Alex Neil.

The 32-year-old completed his move to the U's on Thursday after six-and-a-half years at The Den, having initially joined on loan in August 2018.

He scored 45 goals in 211 appearances for the club and has now reunited with former Lions boss Gary Rowett at the Kassam Stadium.

"Tom's been a great servant over the years for Millwall. He's scored goals, he's worked tirelessly at the top end of the pitch, and he goes with our best wishes, really," Neil told BBC Radio London.

"He wanted to further his career and continue to play. I think he's got the opportunity now to do so at the same level as we're currently at at the moment, so it was a great chance for him.

"Tom's in the last year of his deal here; he's now been given an extra whatever he's been given at Oxford, and he'll be pleased with that."

Oxford next hosts Blackburn Rovers in the league on Saturday, with Millwall facing Blackburn Rovers at The Den.

MIllwall welcome Hull City to The Den on Saturday (15:00 GMT) seeking a first win in five, and a first under Alex Neil in the Championship.

The Lions are 14th and now 11 points adrift of the play-off places, with a seven-point gap to the third-bottom Tigers in the final relegation place.

The Tigers ended a five-match losing streak on their travels with a win last time out at Blackburn, while they pinched a point at home to Leeds in their most recent home game.

• Millwall have failed to win any of their past five league games against Hull City (D3 L2), failing to score in four of those matches. The London outfit last endured a longer such run against the Tigers between January 1967 and January 1970 (six games).

• Hull City have won just two of their 26 away league games against Millwall (D10 L14), drawing on five of their past six EFL visits to The Den (L1).

• Millwall have won just one of their past 11 league games (D5 L5), though that did come at home to Blackburn in December; in fact, only Plymouth (100%) have seen a greater proportion of their total Championship wins this season come at home than the Lions (86% - 6/7).

• Hull City have picked up eight points from their seven league games under manager Rubén Sellés (W2 D2 L3), more than across their 12 Championship matches prior (6 - W1 D3 L8).

• Hull's Abu Kamara scored twice last time out against Leeds United, as many goals as he netted across his previous 32 league appearances for the Tigers and Portsmouth combined; he has never scored in back-to-back league outings

Adam Lanigan
BBC Sport England

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Put simply, Aaron Connolly's time at Sunderland never really got going.

He arrived late after a difficult summer dealing with personal issues which he bravely spoke about shortly after moving to Wearside.

But by that time, Frenchman Wilson Isidor was finding his stride as the Black Cats' main man up front in boss Regis Le Bris' favoured 4-3-3 formation.

Connolly needed a run of games to find his rhythm, but that never came.

He scored his only goal in the 1-1 draw at Millwall in one of only two starts, but he did not even come off the bench in Sunderland's next game. That was proof of where he sat in the pecking order.

The move to The Den is probably best for all parties because, as Connolly showed last season at Hull, there is a very talented Championship player waiting to come out.

Millwall are interested in signing forward Aaron Connolly from Sunderland. The 24-year-old only signed for the Black Cats in September but has struggled to make an impact and could be available. (Sunderland Echo), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Tuesday's gossip here.

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Millwall winger Romain Esse's move to Crystal Palace is edging closer, according to Lions boss Alex Neil.

"There wasn't an issue," Neil said when asked if an injury ruled the 19-year-old out of their 3-0 win over Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup third round on Monday.

"Crystal Palace have shown a lot of interest in Romain. I didn't make him available for the game and I think the situation is progressing and what I wouldn't do is put that at risk at this stage.

"If that changes then Romain will be back in the squad."

When asked if Esse's proposed move to Palace was more likely than it had been last week, Neil added: "Yeah, I think that's fair to say."

He has scored five goals and provided one assist in 25 games in all competitions for Millwall this season.

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Crystal Palace are closing in on the signing of Millwall forward Romain Esse.

Two sources with knowledge of the deal say it is close to being done after the Eagles showed interest in the 19-year-old early in the window.

Sources at Millwall have acknowledged that Palace are front of the queue when it comes to getting a deal done with a number of teams interested in Esse's services.

Millwall manager Alex Neil spoke about Palace's interest in Esse earlier this week and said it would take 'significant money' for the Eagles to complete a signing this month.

There has been interest in England U20 forward Esse for a while and he signed a new deal with the Lions in August.

Esse has five goals and one assist in 25 games for Millwall this season.

Palace are looking to sign a left wing-back and an attacker during this transfer window and alongside Esse have shown an interest in Liverpool loanee Ben Doak.