11:53am Thursday 11th March 2010
By Paul Green
KENNY Jackett is backing the Millwall faithful to play their part in Saturday’s Den derby date with Charlton.
The two sides lock horns in a competitive fixture on Millwall territory for the first time since December 1995 and this weekend’s game is sold out.
Jackett’s side are bang in form at the moment and have already claimed the scalps of both Leeds and Norwich at The Den this season.
The manager knows just how important the home crowd are to his side and is urging them to play their part again against the Addicks.
He said: “It will be my biggest attendance as manager at The Den and it will be great to see the place packed.
“In terms of the atmosphere and how we play on the day, there is no doubt the crowd will be key, as were the few hundred people who went up to Carlisle on Tuesday night.
“It was a fantastic effort to go up there for a midweek game and I really appreciated that as well.
“I think we’ve won something like eight out of 11, which is the type of run you need.
“It is a very good run, the team is in a nice groove and we hope to continue that because we are fifth in the league with 11 games left.”
Jackett added: “I could see the importance of the Charlton game in the first match with the crowd and the atmosphere, which was fantastic.
“It was a very good game and the return fixture was always going to be a bit special.
“I’m sure it will be the same on Saturday and myself and the players are all aware just how significant it is.”
The meeting at The Valley before Christmas ended all square after a thrilling 4-4 draw, although the standard of the officials on the day was a sore point for the Lions afterwards.
Jackett recalls: “I thought we got the rough end of the decisions on the day.
“Jimmy Abdou’s red card was rescinded, so that shows you it was a poor decision, and there were two penalties against us as well.
“But we did very well to come back at the death with Danny Schofield’s goal to get a draw in what was a very good game.
“I don’t necessarily think we owe Charlton one, it was just we happened to get the worst of the decisions on the day.
“That unfortunately is part of a football season and something you have to come through.”
Charlton are third in the table, just two places and four points ahead of Millwall, but Jackett fully expects Phil Parkinson’s side to be involved in the final shake up come May.
He said: “They are obviously one of the bigger clubs in the division because of their recent tradition as a Premiership side, the size of the club and their attendances.
“Charlton were one of the favourites to win promotion and they’ve been up there all season competing, which the size of the club obviously dictates.
“They will be looking at their run in and seeing they have every opportunity, as do perhaps eight or nine sides looking for one of those three promotion places.
“Whether their focus is on the top two or the play-offs, they will have their options open at the moment and will be looking positively at either.”
But Millwall are right up there too and Jackett is refusing to write off his side’s own automatic promotion hopes just yet, despite still being nine points behind second-placed Leeds.
The Lions boss explained: “It isn’t out of the realms of possibility, you always have to keep going.
“People are always very quick to draw a line under teams during the season and it isn’t the right thing to do because the situation can change.
“In this league you can quite easily play three games in a week and get two draws and a loss.
“If somebody wins three out of three, that is a seven point turnover, so it is possible to turn things round during the course of the season.
“The top two so far has always looked quite a fair stretch for us at different times and it still looks like a tough call, but I never close any doors because I’ve seen too many things change.”
Star striker Neil Harris missed the trip to Carlisle after picking up a minor knock in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Walsall.
There is no official confirmation on whether he is fit to face Charlton yet, but Jackett hinted it is looking more and more likely, something which will surely delight Millwall’s fans.
“We will see tomorrow morning but the signs are positive he has a very good chance of being available,” the manager revealed.
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