The momentum shift at The Den

Neil Harris has achieved something few managers manage in the Championship: he has turned a team of scrappers into a side that refuses to blink in high-pressure scenarios. The recent 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough underlined this shift. Josh Coburn was the protagonist, netting two goals against his former club to secure three points that launched his side into the league's top two.

Tactically, Millwall are not reinventing the wheel, but they are executing a brutal, vertical approach that forces mistakes. They averaged 42 percent possession against Middlesbrough, yet their xG production in the final ten minutes surged as they forced the home side into risky transition moments. That efficiency is the hallmark of a team riding a wave of genuine conviction under the current technical staff.

The defensive ceiling and the promotion push

Skeptics will point to the reliance on individual errors from opponents to fuel this charge. Middlesbrough’s backline looked fragile, and Millwall were clinical enough to exploit every gap in a 12-minute window of defensive disorganization. Relying on such high-variance moments consistently is a dangerous game for a team eyeing a top-two finish.

Defensively, the back four remains susceptible to wide overloads. During the second half at the Riverside, the left flank was exposed repeatedly by overlapping runners. If Harris cannot tighten the spacing between his holding midfielders and the full-backs, superior opposition will feast on those corridors during the upcoming run-in. Precision in transition is their greatest asset, yet their lack of structural rigidity during prolonged defensive spells might prevent them from cementing a place in the automatic spots.

Analysing the final sprint

With the recent win against Middlesbrough firmly in the rearview, the focus shifts to whether this squad can sustain the intensity. The fixture list does not offer much respite for a group that lacks the depth of the promotion rivals around them. Managing the minutes of key personnel will determine if this run is a blip or a sustainable rise.

My prediction for the remainder of this campaign is a top-four finish, but not the second-place spot they currently occupy. They will stumble against a side with better tactical discipline in the final three weeks. They are a dangerous team, but they will eventually fall short of the automatic promotion threshold as fatigue sets in for their core engine room.