Alex Neil Prepares for Norwich Clash
Alex Neil isn't about to be fooled by the Championship's opening day results as he prepares to face former club Norwich at The Den.
Millwall opened their campaign with a 2-0 win at Bristol City while the Canaries went down 2-1 at home to West Brom.
But Neil, who famously led City into the top flight in 2015, admits he goes into the game "optimistic but with an air of trepidation."
Neil's Optimism Amidst Challenges
"We've had a good result with a good performance and we obviously want to try to put another one in at home," he told BBC Radio London.
"I'm going into Saturday's game optimistic but with an air of trepidation as usual, because Norwich are a very good side and we're going to have to be at it."
Neil acknowledged Norwich's quality, stating, "They've got a good coach. They spent a lot of money putting together and assembling that squad, so I think they would expect themselves to be right up there, and I think they will be."
Injury Concerns for Millwall
Millwall will be without the dangerous Femi Azeez, who went off during the first half of the Bristol City game.
"He's got a slight strain, which is not significant, but it's going to be a little bit too soon for Fem," said Neil.
Neil led Millwall to a third-place finish in the Championship last season, but their promotion hopes ended when they lost to Hull in the semi-final second leg game at The Den.
This afternoon's game will be their first competitive outing in front of home fans since that disappointment.
"We've started the season well," Neil said. "We've managed to get through the first round of the cup. We've managed to beat Bristol, which I think gave everybody a little bit of confidence and belief."
However, he cautioned, "I don't get carried away because we've won one game, and we've scored a few goals. What happened on Saturday is going to have no bearing on what's going to happen this Saturday, so we'll treat it as we do with every game on its own merits." The Pink'un