Lions go for goals                            by Rob Bowden

Goal hungry Millwall hope to build on exciting start to season at Bradford tomorrow.

The Lions' impressive 3-1 victory over Birmingham in midweek moved them into fourth place in the Second Division at the head of a pack of clubs on 7 points. 

Manager John Docherty is expected to stick with the side that smashed Birmingham's unbeaten record in such convincing style, although full back Nicky Coleman could come back into the reckoning. 

Coleman, who has been plagued by a hamstring injury, turned out for Millwall's reserves against Watford in midweek, and is close to full fitness.

Millwall won 1-0 with a goal from Michael Marks and Docherty said, “Kevin did very well although he was very tired and sore at the end and we will have to wait and see whether there is any reaction.” 

Kevin O'Callaghan will pull on a Millwall shirt for the fast time this afternoon - and that's good news for injury plagued Lions manager John Docherty.

O'Callaghan, an £80,000 signing from Portsmouth, was forced to sit out all Millwall's pre-season preparations after picking up first a stomach strain and then a hamstring injury. 

But the 24-year-old midfielder resumed training at the end of last week and gets his first work out when Millwall Reserves take on Watford at the Den.

It has certainly been frustrating start for O'Callaghan who kicked off his career as an apprentice at the Den and was part of Millwall’s FA Youth Cup winning side before joining Ipswich for £250,000. 

"I was really excited about coming back to Millwall, so picking up an injury on the first day of pre-season training was very disappointing he said. 

"It means I've had to miss all the pre-season work, in fact I haven't been able to do any serious training since the end of last season when I played for Eire against Brazil.  

Millwall Football Club is on course to become the sporting Yuppies favourite haunt, writes Tony Roche.

 To those fans who dreaded a trip to the South London club because of its association with hooliganism, this may seem inconceivable. But the men who run Millwall are determined to change its image and attract a new clientele.

Traditionally the home of London's dockers, The Den has undergone a massive facelift and the club is working flat out to become an integral part of the London Docklands Development.

Neglect

Chairman Reg Burr explained: "We used to attract dock workers but they've gone; the whole working community has gone. Now we attract people from outside the area, Kent, Surrey and parts of London. Yet we have 650,000 people living within a quarter-of-a-mile of the ground. 

 closest club to the new dockland development area and I can see a time when we will be what Chelsea and Fulham were to London football in the 1950s and 60s, the club where the young, upwardly mobile fraternity want to be seen.

"We have worked very hard to clean this up place, It has been a formidable task because  you cannot undo 40 years of neglect in one go. But we have quality and experience at the helm in manager John Docherty and his colleague, Frank McLintock." 

Millwall's chief executive Graham Hortop (right), said the club has spent more than £300,000 on ground safety and increasing the capacity from 16,000 to 19,000. 

but Millwall found themselves further behind in the 53rd minute when Futcher beat Horne fromthe penalty spot after he had been upended by Keith Stevens.

Hurlock powered through two challenges to give Millwall a glimmer of hope in the 65th minute and there were certainly some anxious moments for Bradford as the Lions at last roared into life Teddy Sheringham missed a couple of half chances before Futcher put the outcome beyond doubt - knocking home a low Mark Ellis cross. 

"The players are still bedding in," explained Docherty, "but we never really managed to reach the sort of standard we set against Birmingham.” 

RATINGS: Horne ****, Stevens ***,  Sparham ****,  Hurlock *****,  Walker ****,  Wood ***, Lawrence ***, Briley **, Sheringham **, Cascarino ***, Salman ***, Subs: Morgan, Byrne

IT was a case of too little, too late for John Docherty's new-look Millwall side at Bradford on Saturday. 

The Lions didn't ready start playing until they were two goals down and after Terry Hurlock had given them a glimmer of hope it looked as thorough they might just escape with a point. 

But Ron Futcher shattered those hopes with his second goal a minute from the end and Millwall were left bemoaning a couple of missed chances and a penalty appeal that was waved aside. 

"We should have had a penalty when Danis Salman was fouled, but we are not going to cry about that - it just seems as though we can't take our chances as well away from home." 

Ian Palin left Millwall facing an uphill struggle when he put Bradford in front after only 12 minutes, but solid work by Steve Wood, Alan Walker, Scan Sparham and Brian Horne kept the Lions in with a shout.

Hurlock turned in another powerhouse display in midfield, but Tony Cascarino had trouble escaping the attentions of Gavin Oliver and Teddy Sheringham had one of those afternoons when nothing went right. 

Millwall never seemed to have any luck on long journeys up north. I traveled with the Away travel club on the only coach they laid on. It was fifty seat coach with about 20 people on it. Certainly at this stage of the season, it was never gonna be a huge turn out, but the three hundred or so up there was a respectable turn out. It was my first visit to Valley Parade, having gone to Odsal stadium a couple of seasons ago. 

I was impressed with the new stands but laughed at the micky mouse arrangement of employing an ex-professional goalkeeper to patrol up and down the roof of the low stand to our right to try and catch the ball before it fell to road far below the stand. However he was very good and caught a lot of balls. Surely a net would be better.

The first goal was credited to Palin, but it went in off Salman's  knee after he tried to close him down on the edge of the six yard box.

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