Valley boss praises Millwall's team ethic
4:50pm Thursday 29th November 2012 in Latest Sport By Paul Green
Chris Powell. PICTURE BY EDMUND BOYDEN.
CHARLTON manager Chris Powell puts Millwall’s impressive form down to their team ethic.
The Lions sit fifth in the Championship table on the back of an unbeaten 12-game run going into Saturday’s derby with the Addicks at The Den.
Charlton are also in form having picked up 13 points from the last 15 but Powell knows his side face a stern test in front of what looks like being a packed stadium.
When asked what he admired most about the Lions, the Valley chief replied: “Them as a team - they are playing as a team at the moment.
“Of course everyone will b e talking about Chris Wood, he has come in on loan and made a huge impact.
“His partnership with Andy Keogh is good and Darius Henderson has scored some goals for them, although he has been out injured.
“They are playing as a team, as a real solid unit and they are quite no nonsense in their approach.”
Powell added: “They’ve got some decent players.
“They do play to their strengths and one strength is their home ground and playing in front of their fans, but it is them as a whole who are in a good place so obviously they are doing a lot of things well at this present time.
“It is up to us to combat that, it is up to us to make sure that we play as a team and not as individuals.
“We’ve been doing that of late as is reflected in our results and performances.
“We know they’ve got some good players on the pitch but equally so have we.”
Despite three spells as a Charlton player, Saturday will be the first time Powell has been involved in a competitive Charlton v Millwall fixture.
He said: “I’ve played in Palace v Charlton games and managed just the one.
“I played against Millwall for West Ham, which was quite an interesting afternoon’s work (laughs), but Saturday is a big game with location, family links, player links etc.
“We know how big it is but we’ve got to go there with a calmness and reassurance about ourselves.
“Anything that goes on I don’t want my players caught up in it, we need to manage the game with our heads and make sure we have that composure and calmness about us.
“Leave all the ranting and raving to me because I want my players out there performing to the best of their abilities and making sure we create chances and give ourselves a platform to try and win the game.”
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