[themaclad]

Quickly arriving at the last chance saloon, play a surprisingly upwards and mobie Millwall under the guise of Alex Neil, think we may know a bit about him.
Probably should have won down there bit Big Dan missed kick provided them with an equaliser.





www.millwallfc.co.uk/

MANAGER

Alexander Francis Neil (born 9 June 1981)[2] is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL Championship club Millwall.

Neil began his professional career at Airdrieonians in 2000, playing half a season in the Scottish Football League First Division before moving to Barnsley. He played 142 games across all competitions in his four-year spell at Barnsley, and then signed for Mansfield Town on a free transfer. After a season at Mansfield, he returned to Scotland's First Division with Hamilton Academical, featuring in 246 matches across a decade and winning promotion to the Scottish Premier League in 2008.

He became Hamilton's player-manager in 2013 and led them to promotion to the Scottish Premiership in 2014. In January 2015 he was appointed manager of Norwich City, as the second youngest manager in the Football League at the time. Neil guided Norwich to promotion to the Premier League, by winning the 2015 Football League Championship play-off final. Norwich suffered relegation the following season, and in March 2017, Neil was sacked. He was appointed Preston North End's manager on 4 July 2017 and led the team to seventh place in the 2017–18 Championship. On 11 February 2022 Neil was appointed manager of Sunderland. They were promoted from League One to the Championship, winning 2–0 in the play-off final. He left later that year to become the manager of Stoke City.


PHOTO CREATIVE COMMONS



Bit unlucky at Deepdale given a lot of his games were played in empty stadiumsbut once he said he didn't know what his best side was, he was toast


FORM GUIDE



RATINGS

PNE 8 MILLWALL 14

They are in better nick than us

Tough game this against a side with some big lads, Coburn and Cooper, well managed and my provide a surprise come May

On this day memory almost



This was one of those games you don't forget, coach of budding alcoholics from Leyland arrived at Hereford on possibly one of the coldest days in thousands of years and a pitch that could be described as rock hard and nowadays it would have been called off.
We were excessively crap that season but this was one of those small triumphs of sorts.
Had a keeper on loan from Blackpool called Phil Harrington can't quite remenber whether it was his debut or not, anyway he lasted about 10 minutes before breaking his ankle. Wayne Foster our centre forward went in goal, soon one down.
The blocks of ice in the away end were getting ready to salute yet another away defeat when out of the gloom we score. A point away from home in that season getting a point was a miracle.
On the way home stopped at a hotel of ale in Wolverhampton, we were not in it long due to one of our slightly inebriated fellow coach dwellers takin a horn from the wall and blowing it in the pub.
Happy days

[themaclad]

Team News

Preston North End head into this clash with an almost fully fit squad, with Robbie Brady, Liam Lindsay and Brad Potts all returning to the matchday squad against Swansea.

Daniel Iversen remains sidelined but isn’t too far away from a return to action.

The Visitors

Millwall have enjoyed a strong 2025/26 campaign so far and are placed third in the Championship table heading into this match.

The Lions have won three of their previous four league fixtures, running out 3-0 victors over Birmingham City last time out.

Former PNE manager Alex Neil has been in charge at the Den since December 2024 and has moulded Millwall into one of the division’s toughest sides.

Match Officials

Referee: Ben Toner

Assistant Referees: Graham Kane and Conor Brown

Fourth Official: Ollie Yates

Ben Toner will officiate North End’s clash with Millwall at Deepdale.

He last took charge of a match involving PNE when the Lilywhites drew with Coventry City earlier this term.

Toner has handed out 76 yellow and five red cards in 20 matches this season.

MACCERS

Stuart McCall believes that Preston North End must enjoy being in the fight for a play-off finish during the final 12 matches of the 2025/26 campaign.

The Lilywhites sit ninth in the Championship standings heading into their home clash against Millwall, trailing sixth-placed Wrexham by five points.

Two late goals have stolen valuable points away from North End in recent times, something that has frustrated the coaching staff, given the tight margins of the second-tier standings.

“The Blackburn game, there was nothing in it,” stated Stuart. “It was a game I thought would be tight. A typical derby, a bit scrappy. We were better first half. They were probably slightly better in the second half, but it had 0-0 written all over it.

“And then we lose a really poor goal right at the death. At Swansea, a different performance. Played a lot more on the front foot.

“We thought it'd be a different game. More spaces down there to hurt them, which proved in the first half. In the second half, they made the changes. They came onto us. They brought a bit of tempo to the game. But still, we'd seen it out, really.

“Another really poor bit of game management from us at the back end. We've lost two goals, which cost us three points all in. Just hugely frustrating. But it's gone now. We've got to learn from it.”

Stuart has a great deal of experience getting over the line in promotion races, as both a player and a manager, an asset that may prove valuable in the North End dressing room during the final 12 matches.

He explained that mentality is one of the most important factors throughout this period of time, and how big a role mindset can play in the final standings.


“It's a mindset as much as anything,” revealed Stuart. “Let's not look back because that's not where we're going. It's looking forward. We've dropped many points with last-minute goals, but it's gone. We can't change that.

“What we can do is make sure when we go out on Saturday that we're playing from the first whistle to the last whistle. Give it everything you've got, and let's try to have a really good end to the season. You know, football is probably the greatest job in the world, really, going out there and playing football.

“So just enjoy it and you enjoy it more by winning, naturally. That's what you've got to do.

“It's a dream, it's a belief. But the thing is, there are eight other clubs probably aiming for that sixth spot, fifth, sixth spot. They've all got the same ambition. So that's what we're going to do. And until we can't make it, then be as positive as we possibly can.”

Up next for the Lilywhites is a home contest against Millwall, who come into the fixture sitting third in the Championship standings.

With the Lions coming off the back of a 3-0 triumph over Birmingham City, North End’s assistant manager is expecting a tough test at Deepdale on Saturday.


“We analyse, as we do every game, and look back at games,” explained Stuart. “Their strengths are in the set plays, also in their counter-attacks, especially away from home.

“They've got really good individual players, Femi Azeez. They can pick either Josh Coburn or Mihailo Ivanovic up top, both well-capable strikers at this level. And they're a team that do the basics really well, well-organised, as you'd expect, under Alex.

“He's done a fantastic job down there, a good team spirit, a good work ethic. And that's something we've got to match and go beyond in a game which, as I say, I think will be a really tight, tough game. But one that we've got to make sure we can come out on the right end of.”

[themaclad]

https://www.fotmob.com/matches/preston-v...tab=lineup
Referee: Ben Toner

Attendance: 15,489 (1,668 Millwall fans)

Beaten by the better side and a result which probably means the end of season jamboree has been put to bed for another season.Impressed with them big Jake at the back and even bigger Josh up front gave us a hard time.
Decent start Potts effort straight at Patterson easy save but apart from that it was mainly one way, pressing game basically nulified us, they got the ball behind the back three and always had two men harrying the defender on the ball, decent back for promotion on this showing. Hit the post, took the lead when a half chance was put away by Leonard, his first goal in five and half years. Could have had a couple more before half time, effort from the left went narrowly across the face of the goal with Coburn narrowly failing to slide the ball home.
Must be the only club in the world not to notice a 6ft 5ins defender stealing in unmarked at the back post, Cooper shot was blocked.
Quieter in the second half, Millwall defnsively solid, every high ball won by Cooper, got slightly better for us when Brady came on for his first game since last May and heaven forbid we passed the ball on the ground and actually created a couple of chances, Lang's shot spiled by Patterson and a shot by Os was blocked by a defender, but after that brief spell Millwall took control and in injury time, Azeez down the right, passed a backtracking Hughes, ball to the back post and Cundle easy tap in, mass desertion form the home support, fair result , no complaints.

HECK

Paul Heckingbottom admitted that Preston North End were second best against Millwall at Deepdale.

The Lilywhites were defeated 2-0 by Alex Neil’s side, who took the lead in the first half through Ryan Leonard, before Luke Cundle struck again in stoppage time.

With Millwall entering the match third in the Championship, PNE’s manager admitted that he always knew his side was in for a tough match.

“We knew the pattern of the game,” stated Hecky. “We knew their strengths and what they're good at, and arguably best in the league at, and a difficult team to set up against, but we competed.

“I can have no complaints over the result, and likewise, I've got no complaints over the effort that we showed and the commitment we showed to it. But we had no surprises. We knew how difficult the game was going to be.

“We know how they're going to come and set up here. We know what their strengths are. They've done it throughout the season. I think they're the best in the league at that, so there were no surprises from it.

“Likewise, I've already seen some moments back in the game where the positions we're in, we had a lot of opportunities where we outnumbered them behind their midfield, or when we're getting delivery in the box or position to deliver, we outnumber them in the box. So, in those moments, a few more moments of quality or just sheer luck when you've got the spare bodies in the box dropping to you would have helped us.”


The 2025/26 Championship campaign has been tightly contested, with not much in the way of points separating teams throughout the table.

With this in mind, Hecky explained how North End can try to come out on the right side of those fine margins.

“Just be better, that's it,” said the manager. “There are clear patterns for us in the season and how it is, but everyone knows that as well.

“They're not going to allow us to do what we're really good at. And that always happens, so we have to find another way.”

Millwall boss Alex Neil told BBC Radio London:

"It certainly wasn't one for the football purists, the conditions and the pitch make it difficult to play, but in real contrast to the Birmingham game it was a very different challenge.

"I thought we stood up to it brilliantly. I thought we deserved the first goal, we should have scored before that, and we had two or three chances after that in the first half as well.

"In the second half it was always going to be a case of who got the next goal. To be fair to Preston, they threw everything at us but I thought we defended brilliantly."