Gary Rowett is "relieved" to be resuming the 2019/20 Sky Bet Championship season on Saturday afternoon - and wants his Lions side to "seize" the opportunity that has been presented following the three-month long break in the game.
Millwall welcome Derby County to The Den this weekend (kick-off 1pm), and when speaking to millwallfc.co.uk, the boss explained his thoughts about the visit of The Rams and the final nine games.
"I'm very relieved [to be getting back underway]," he said. "The players have worked so dilligently and hard in what has been a difficult period for everybody, but also for footballers who want to go and do their little bit for the fans.
"I'm pleased we're back to something like normal - it won't be normal, it won't be the same - but what we've got to do is sense the opportunity we've got and see if we can go and seize it in what is almost going to be a mini tournament.
"We've got a difficult test [on Saturday], but I think everyone is just looking forward to getting back out there."
Mason Bennett is ineligible for the game, with the manager also detailing a trio of injury doubts in amongst his squad - teams can now name nine substitutes, of which five can be used.
"Our only injury concerns are Thommo [Ben Thompson], Pearcey [Alex Pearce] and Aiden [O'Brien]. With Thommo, we're waiting to see next week how he responds, whilst Aiden's looks a bit worse than that. Pearcey is out with his hamstring - we'll assess that over the next week or two and see where we are with it."
Watch Gary's full interview by clicking play on the video above.
