Birmingham interim manager Gary Rowett was left frustrated after his side were held to a 0-0 draw at Rotherham.

The result edged the Blues two points clear of the Championship relegation zone but it was a missed opportunity to move closer to safety against the already-relegated Rotherham.

Steve Evans was back in the home dugout following his shock midweek return following the sacking of Leam Richardson and he will have been pleased with the spirited display which kicked off his second stint as Millers’ boss.

Play was stopped for more than half an hour after nine minutes of the first period when referee Keith Stroud was alerted to a medical emergency in the home stand, with the supporter being taken to hospital after receiving treatment.

The game lacked quality following the restart but burst into life in the closing stages, with Birmingham’s Jay Stansfield having an effort ruled out for offside.

Rowett said: “It was an attritional game. The way that Rotherham are going to be set up, you know they’re going to be very direct and play for second balls and make it difficult to get out.

“I thought it was difficult to find any rhythm. It was a tough game.

“The first half was a non-event. Second half was a little bit better, we just needed those moments of quality to open the game up. Sometimes we did that without finding an end to it and sometimes we lacked composure.”

On Stansfield’s disallowed goal, Rowett added: “There is a player in or around the goalkeeper. There is about 15 but one is in an offside position. I don’t think he saves it anyway. It does not impact the keeper’s vision. He hits it so hard and low and wide of the keeper that he isn’t going to save it.”

Birmingham lead third-bottom Huddersfield by two points and they travel to face the Terriers next weekend.

“I don’t think you can get any bigger at this stage of the season,” Rowett added.

“Every game is massive and every game is one where you don’t want to waste an opportunity. We just could not quite find that winning goal today.”

Rotherham boss Steve Evans is glad to be back at the New York Stadium.

He said: “It was everything you would have wanted. It was exciting. It was a fantastic welcome. How I got received will go down as another wonderful memory at this place.

“That is how we play. We played against a team fighting for their lives and against top players.

“The boys have gone through the pain barrier. All we can do is freshen them up and get them ready for Bristol City and Cardiff.

“The break in play changed the momentum of the game because they were under the cosh. It was like starting afresh. It gave the Birmingham lads an opportunity to reset.

“We asked the boys to work incredibly hard. From a neutral point of view a draw was probably a fair result.”

Interim Birmingham boss Gary Rowett rued a missed opportunity to move out the Championship relegation zone after the Blues were beaten 1-0 at home by Cardiff.

Rowett’s side would have moved out the bottom three with a point but Josh Bowler’s 65th-minute goal earned Cardiff victory at St Andrew’s.

The result leaves Blues 23rd in the table with just four games of the season remaining.

“When you have an opportunity, you have to do everything you can to take that opportunity and we just didn’t do that,” Rowett said.

“We petered out with a little bit of a whimper and it’s incredibly frustrating and frustrating for the fans who came out in good numbers.

“I thought we started OK and I thought we had some good control and I felt we got into some good areas without finding the quality to open them up.

“We’ve given goals away far too easily, we’ve conceded soft goals, tonight we had a chance to react to their goal and we didn’t react.

“We lacked character in that second half and how the game ended.

“We know we’ve got another tough game on Saturday and we need to show a little bit more urgency, fight and character.”

Cardiff, who remain in 11th position, lost midfielder Aaron Ramsey to injury.

The Wales midfielder started his first match for the Bluebirds since September but was substituted at half-time because of a hamstring problem.

Manager Erol Bulut said: “He had an injury with the hamstring so we hope it is not something big and we will see after a scan.”

Bulut was happy with his team’s display against a difficult opponent.

“It was a good game from our side, of course it was not an easy game because Birmingham are fighting for points,” Bulut said.

“It was a strong game from us against the ball and we could have made one or two more goals if we would have finalised our passes or the last shot but in general, I am satisfied with the performance of the team.

“We now have four more games and I hope it can be the same like today.”

Bulut believes it has been a satisfying season for the Bluebirds, but inconsistencies have been their downfall.

“You see where Cardiff City was last season and where they are now and how we have progressed, I am satisfied with the season and the performance of many players, but it could be better,” Bulut said.

“We have not had the consistency and so maybe we could be closer to the play-offs.”

Birmingham missed the chance to climb out of the Championship relegation zone as Josh Bowler’s 65th-minute goal snatched victory for Cardiff and left the Blues a point from safety.

Gary Rowett’s side had the opportunity to win successive home matches and jump above Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield in the table, but Bowler’s fourth goal of the season instead left them second bottom with just four games to play.

The home side had just one shot on target in the match as they struggled to create many clear-cut chances against their mid-table opponents.

Birmingham chairman Tom Wagner was in attendance after the news on Tuesday that the club plan to leave St Andrew’s for a new stadium by August 2029.

He witnessed an uneventful start to the game before Blues midfielder Juninho Bacuna’s effort deflected behind for a corner after 10 minutes.

That sparked the game into life as Koji Miyoshi’s low strike hit a post for the hosts before Cardiff’s Yakou Meite tested John Ruddy, with the goalkeeper gathering the shot at the second attempt.

Miyoshi’s reverse pass to Bacuna engineered another chance for Birmingham but the midfielder’s effort was comfortably claimed by Ethan Horvath.

Ruddy then had to make another save to deny Meite. Karlan Grant charged up the pitch and Meite took the ball off the winger on the edge of the box and struck a powerful effort on goal, which the goalkeeper pushed clear.

The hosts came close at the other end soon after when Jordan James curled a first-time strike narrowly wide of both the stretching arm of Horvath and the post.

Birmingham started the second half brightly but lacked a cutting edge in the final third.

A well-drilled Cardiff outfit was frustrating the hosts and the Bluebirds looked happy to play on the counter-attack.

That plan duly worked when Bowler fired past Ruddy at his near post from half-time substitute Rubin Colwill’s cross to give them the lead.

The pressure intensified on Blues to get a goal and Rowett made a triple substitution to try and change his sides fortunes, but Ruddy had to deny Grant to stop the visitors doubling their lead.

Grant then saw an effort deflect just over the crossbar.

Rowett threw on two more subs in the closing stages as his side chased a late leveller, but Cardiff held on for all three points.

Tony Mowbray’s period of absence from Birmingham leaves interim boss Gary Rowett as Blues’ fourth manager of the season.

They are the first club since 2018 to have as many as four managers in an English Football League season and here, the PA news agency looks at their turbulent campaign and how it compares.

Tale of woe

Mowbray, 60, has been granted a leave of absence until the start of pre-season for medical reasons after undergoing surgery on an undisclosed issue last month, just eight games after taking charge.

His appointment came after Birmingham sacked Wayne Rooney, who in turn was only appointed in October in place of John Eustace.

Eustace’s sacking was controversial, having led the club to 17th place last season on 53 points – their highest total since 2016 – and then to sixth after 11 games of this term.

The club cited the need for “the board of directors and the football management (to be) fully aligned on the importance of implementing a winning mentality and a culture of ambition”, and appointed former Derby and DC United boss Rooney two days later – but his reign was a short and unhappy one.

The ex-England captain lasted just 15 games, winning two, before he was removed from his post and replaced by Mowbray.

The latter’s illness means Mark Venus has been in caretaker charge but Rowett, who managed the club between 2014 and 2016, has now been brought back in to steady the ship – with Blues above the relegation zone on goal difference alone and 15 places worse off than when Eustace was dismissed.

Revolving door

The last EFL club to employ four managers in a season were Barnet in 2017-18, when first Rossi Eames and then Mark McGhee were moved into other roles within the club – Eames as head of development and McGhee head of technical – and then Graham Westley lasted just two months, with Martin Allen finishing the season.

Watford, a club with a reputation for cycling through managers, were the last Championship team to employ four in a season in 2014-15.

Beppe Sannino was sacked, Oscar Garcia stepped down for health reasons after just four games, Billy McKinlay was appointed as his replacement but extraordinarily sacked after only two matches – a win and a draw – and Slavisa Jokanovic became the Hornets’ fourth manager in 37 days. The Serbian took Watford up to the Premier League but left in the close season.

In between times, Leyton Orient managed to get through five managers in the 2016-17 League Two season.

Andy Hessenthaler and Alberto Cavasin were sacked in September and November respectively, Andy Edwards left for a youth coaching job at the Football Association and Danny Webb lasted just two months, with Omer Riza closing out the season in an interim capacity similar to Rowett at Birmingham.

Former Birmingham manager Gary Rowett has returned to the club as interim boss after Tony Mowbray was granted extended medical leave.

Ex-Sunderland boss Mowbray succeeded Wayne Rooney at St Andrews in January, but a month later he temporarily stepped down from his role to undergo medical treatment, with a view to returning in approximately six to eight weeks.

But Mowbray will now be absent until the start of pre-season, paving the way for Rowett to return to the club where he had a two-year spell in charge between 2014 and 2016.

Rowett left his new club’s Championship relegation rivals Millwall in October and takes over a Blues side only outside the bottom three on goal difference with eight games remaining.

Mowbray played a role in Rowett’s appointment.

Birmingham co-owner and chairman of the board Tom Wagner said in a statement on the club website: “Based on Tony’s decision to take some additional time away, we agreed it is in the club’s best interests to appoint Gary Rowett to lead the team forward from the touchline for the final eight games of the season. 

“Gary is an experienced leader and has our full support.”

Assistant Mark Venus will also temporarily leave the club and return with Mowbray, while first-team coaches Ashley Cole and Peter Shuttleworth as well as goalkeeper coach Maik Taylor will remain in their positions.

Rowett will be on the touchline for Birmingham’s clash against fellow strugglers QPR next week.

Callum Brittain’s first goal for Blackburn earned his side a third straight win in the Championship as they came from behind to defeat managerless Millwall 2-1 at The Den.

It certainly was not the finish of a man who had not previously struck since signing from Barnsley last year, but it enabled Jon Dahl Tomasson’s team to seal the points.

This was Millwall’s first home game since the departure of Gary Rowett six days ago, and his former charges are now winless in three.

They were, however, ahead in only the third minute when Jake Cooper kept alive Joe Bryan’s free-kick, allowing Wes Harding to get in a fairly tame header on goal.

It was one that Blackburn goalkeeper Leopold Wahlstedt somehow allowed to run in through his legs and give Harding his first Lions goal since his summer move from Rotherham.

Another goalkeeping clanger then gifted the visitors an equaliser after 22 minutes when Joe Rankin-Costello played a one-two with Brittain before his shot squirmed under Bartosz Bialkowski and trickled in.

Rovers almost completed the turnaround just after the half-hour when Dominic Hyam’s ball across was flicked goalwards by Harry Pickering, but Bialkowski this time got down to save.

Blackburn looked the more likely to move ahead in the remainder of the half, but the two teams went into the break level in the score and level when it came to errors by the men between the sticks.

Parity was broken six minutes into the second half when James Hill’s pass put Brittain into space and he was able to advance into the area before bending a superb finish into the top corner to put the visitors ahead.

Millwall responded well, however, and were almost level within three minutes as Tom Bradshaw’s header needed to be pushed over the bar by Wahlstedt.

Blackburn then should have moved further in front in the 59th minute when substitute Andrew Moran was put through by Rankin-Costello, only to be denied by Bialkowski, who then clawed away Sammie Szmodics’ header moments later.

Still in the hunt, the Lions again came close to equalising when Romain Esse’s chipped ball into the box was flicked wide by Cooper’s head.

Then from George Honeyman’s corner, Bradshaw flicked the ball on, but the sliding Harding was unable to turn it home at the back post.

Bialkowski then continued to keep the hosts alive, when he did brilliantly to tip Szmodics’ effort onto the bar after Blackburn’s top scorer had been teed up by Tyrhys Dolan, but Brittain’s super strike was enough to claim the points.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe hailed a hard-earned point as his side snapped their three-game losing streak with a 1-1 draw at home to Millwall.

It took just three minutes for North End to get on the scoresheet, as Danish striker Mads Frokjær-Jensen coolly slotted home his third goal of the season.

But the Lions, in their first match following the dismissal of Gary Rowett earlier this week, hit back through a magical turn and finish from Zian Flemming after half an hour.

Both sides had chances to take all three points, with Millwall youngster Aidomo Emakhu rattling the crossbar and Ched Evans going close for the hosts on his return from injury after seven months out.

And Lowe was relieved to take a point from a breathless affair as his side look to return to their early-season form.

“It’s all about finding a way to get points on the board, and we’ve done that today,” he said.

“We were fantastic in the first 15 minutes, but then they pegged us back. Flemming is a top player, and he’s put their equaliser right in the top bins.

“We’ve got bodies up the pitch and we created a really strong impetus, but it just wasn’t enough unfortunately.

“Millwall were really hanging on towards the end, but as I’ve said many times before, if you can’t win, just make sure you don’t lose.

“The final ball just quite wasn’t there I suppose. It was a 90 per cent performance from us today, but we need another per cent.

“We know exactly what Millwall are like. They’re a decent side, but we have to move on now and see what Wednesday brings.”

A major positive for Lowe was the return of striker Evans, who came off the bench after recovering from surgery for a neck and spine problem that had left him sidelined since April.

“Just to see Ched on the pitch was brilliant. I’m really pleased for him,” added Lowe.

“It’s been a long time coming, and he looked a real threat, just as we expect.

“Ched’s a warrior, he’s had a big scare, but I’m pleased for him and his family that he’s fully fit again.”

Millwall came into the lunchtime kick-off after a dramatic week in South London that saw Rowett relieved of his duties after four years in charge at the Den.

Interim boss Adam Barrett praised the way his players have dealt with the situation to earn a valuable point on the road.

“I was delighted with the application and the attitude of all the lads,” he said.

“It’s been a hectic few days with what’s gone on, but the lads are experienced and it’s all been quite seamless really. This is football, and we move on.

“I’m delighted with the point. It was quite a nervy start from the lads, and we didn’t get out of the blocks in the manner I’d have liked.

“We reacted really well after that opening 10 or 15 minutes, though. We moved the ball well and got ourselves a great goal.

“The second half was a bit scrappy, and a bit too stop-start. I was pleased with how the lads dug in, though. This is a good point away at a really strong Preston side.”

Preston halted a run of three straight defeats with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home to managerless Millwall.

Now without the departed Gary Rowett, the Lions turned in a solid display as the hosts struggled to find a way through their resolute defence.

An at-times feisty encounter produced an eye-catching opening half-an-hour, but after that it never really scaled the heights at any point.

Preston’s Duane Holmes had already gone close before Adam Barrett’s second stint in caretaker charge of the Lions got off to a nightmare start.

In only the third minute a smart North End move culminated with Will Keane flicking the ball to Mads Frokjaer-Jensen, and the talented Dane coolly slotted past Bartosz Bialkowski from 12 yards.

Ryan Lowe’s hosts had flown out of the blocks, but Millwall were then thwarted by the woodwork in the eighth minute.

Aidomo Emakhu darted down the right before seeing a deflected strike brilliantly palmed onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

A real ding-dong battle continued with North End going close again when Holmes ran energetically through the middle before his rasping shot was beaten away by Bialkowski.

At the other end Emakhu charged towards the heart of the North End defence before seeing Woodman calmly hold on to his 20-yard drive.

A cracking strike evened the scores on the half-hour mark as Allan Campbell played a neat touch to Zian Flemming, with the Dutchman then curling home sweetly into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Millwall created the first opening of the second period, with tidy approach play setting up Campbell inside the box, but he fired disappointingly straight at Woodman.

As the Lions continued to press, Flemming dived in spectacularly but could not quite stretch enough to meet Brooke Norton-Cuffy’s super cross.

Finally the hosts found themselves some forward rhythm, only for the Lions’ rear-guard to continually stand strong.

As the 70-minute mark passed there was precious little goalmouth incident, though North End threatened when Brad Potts’ volleyed cross deflected off Millwall’s Joe Bryan before being saved by an alert Bialkowski.

Ched Evans – on as a substitute after missing seven months out injured – also went close with a flicked header.

Millwall replied with Flemming firing a rather disappointing free-kick way off target with the final action of the game, something that summed up what had been a hugely below-par effort from both teams in the second 45 minutes.

Millwall boss Gary Rowett was delighted with his side’s response to Saturday’s defeat to Swansea as they moved up to 11th in the Championship on the back of a superb defensive display in a 2-0 win at Plymouth.

Zian Flemming put Millwall ahead in the 59th minute and then teed up substitute George Saville for a second goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time to seal victory.

Rowett said: “We needed to respond from our previous game at home, which we weren’t happy about but this is what the Championship is made of.

“You have got to move on very quickly and find a way to win the next game and that’s what we’ve done.”

He said: “When I saw it was Plymouth away, I knew it would be a tough game.

“I have seen them play and seen a lot of their games at home. We saw the Norwich game and they have got a lot of quality and a lot of energy and more importantly a lot of confidence.

“You can feel the excitement and the energy of the crowd. I knew it would be a test for us today and our game plan was to sit a little deeper and see if they can break us down and entice them forward.

“I just felt that would open up some spaces on the transition.

“They are a good side and I think they will win a lot of games here.

“We were diligent and did enough to stop them breaking us down.

“You have to ride out some of those defensive moments of pressure and I felt our forward players would have the beating of their defenders if we got into those transitions spaces.

“You wait for that moment of brilliance and I think Duncan Watmore showed it, lovely touch bought it down, cuts inside and a lovely little flick pass with the outside of his boot and then Zian with a good timing of his run, splits the defence and lifts it over the keeper.

“It’s a good-quality finish. Just at that moment when you think ‘are we going to see it out?’, it’s always nice to get that second one. It doesn’t half make you feel good because you know the game is over then.”

Frustrated Argyle boss Steven Schumacher said: “Obviously we wanted to get a better result than that.

“I felt the way we played, especially early on in the game, the way we passed the ball, the energy and the quality that we showed was really good.

“We got into some dangerous areas but didn’t quite make the most of those opportunities. Some of that was excellent defending from them and some of it was poor decision making from us.

“It was frustrating overall because on the balance of it I thought we definitely deserved something from the game.

“I think we will play worse than that and get a result and as I said, it was not the way we wanted the game to go. Especially once they scored it got harder.

“I think we got in around the back of them a few times in the first half but there was a couple of opportunities where we should have been allowed to continue but the referee pulled the game back on the counter attack.

“Once they got their first goal, I thought they defended their box really well. They weren’t interested in coming out again and did what you expected a Millwall team to do.”

Gary Rowett hailed a determined Millwall performance after they ended a run of three straight defeats to beat Stoke 1-0.

Rowett labelled his team as “lacklustre” after their 3-1 loss to Norwich last week and has faced criticism from Lions fans following a poor start to the season.

But Kevin Nisbet’s excellent first-half finish was enough for a fifth win in six games against the Potters, who missed a host of second-half chances.

“I’m pleased for the players. I’m still the same manager as I was last week but a little bit happier,” Rowett said.

“I understand the fan criticism. When you pay your money you take your choice but I knew that our fans would get behind us if we put the relevant energy and aggression into the game. That’s what they want to see and that’s what I thought we gave them.

“Certainly, first half I thought we were very good. We played on the front foot, we played forward early, we supported quickly, played off those second balls. We caused Stoke quite a lot of problems, we scored the goal with a good finish to give us that slender lead.

“(Nesbit) just has that calmness around him when he’s in and around the box.

“Stoke made a good tactical change at half-time but we’ve dug in and had to be resilient.”

Millwall were the stronger team in the first half and found the breakthrough when Stoke failed to deal with a looping long throw from the right, bouncing kindly for Nesbit to find the bottom right corner.

Stoke came into the game after a quadruple substitution at half-time. Andre Vidigal went close with a one-on-one and forced a fine save from Matija Sarkic, while Tyrese Campbell hit a post and Wouter Burger had a late drive fizz wide.

Stoke dialled up the pressure as the heavens opened and Campbell had a shot blocked by Shaun Hutchinson before Mehdi Leris shot just over in a scramble.

Potters manager Alex Neil is adamant his team deserved at least a point after camping inside the Millwall half.

Stoke have signed 10 players this summer, including three in the past week, and Neil admits it will take for them to gel – but still wants to add more to his squad before the deadline.

“I’m not in the habit of taking four players off at any one time ever, but I felt as if I needed to impact the game in a positive manner,” he said.

“In the second half, we were excellent and deserved to get something from the match. I thought the chances we had second half, you could argue we should have won it really.

“I was concerned how quickly the new players will bed in, how quickly can they adapt, but on the evidence of the second half, I think the answer was there.

“So when you say ‘stutter’, the first half was disappointing, the result is disappointing but the second half there were hugely encouraging bits.

“We’ve still got to add, we know that, this was always going to be the case for us. The fact is we had won three games out of four this season so far, we’ve won three games out of five now. I think you can see that we’re a good side.”

Millwall manager Gary Rowett was especially disappointed with his side’s 1-0 defeat at home to Bristol City as it came on the day the club paid tribute to late chairman John Berylson.

This was the Lions’ first home league match of the season and those in attendance paid their respects to American Berylson, who died in July aged 70 having taken over the club in 2007.

The home side proudly wore T-shirts with Berylson’s face printed on the front during their warm-up, while American flags were unfurled in the Dockers Stand and wreaths were laid behind each goal by the captains.

On the pitch, though, Matty James’ strike four minutes into stoppage time ensured it was the Robins who came away with all three points, with Rowett upset that the team could not produce a performance to match the occasion.

He said: “The tribute to John was absolutely wonderful. His family being here was all the more special. The minute’s applause was immaculately done by both sets of fans. The atmosphere was brilliant.

“It’s particularly disappointing because – I’m a manager, you feel responsible – John’s family were here and you want them to have a positive experience at a game like this.

“We lacked energy, a little bit of spark. I thought it was a nothing game. It was a game that looked destined to fizzle out.

“We didn’t play with enough zip, energy, we are at home and have to make the running, get on the front foot. At times it felt soft, we haven’t really put our marker on the game physically.

“I expect the players to drive it a little bit more on the pitch – I think at times we need to show more determination. I felt we were waiting to show quality. I thought we were a little bit wasteful on the ball.

“We’ll have to lick our wounds.”

Bristol City had to wait until the final stages to break the deadlock, but came away with three points in their first game since selling Alex Scott to Bournemouth.

It was fitting that his midfield partner James was the man to clinch all three points, finding the bottom corner after a long throw-in.

But while that goal was fairly direct, manager Nigel Pearson explained that the plan had been to make Millwall run as much as possible.

“We are a side that are capable of out-running teams,” Pearson said. “We wanted this to be a running game. Their three centre-backs are not as mobile as our forwards. We wanted to stretch them.

“Our energy levels were great. I thought we were always dangerous. What gets results like this is the psychological aspects of dealing with situations.

“We dealt with their set plays well. That hasn’t always been the case for us. We’ve worked hard over the last two seasons to put that right.

“We have to be consistently good. That’s where the growth of the side will be measured this season.

“We dealt with what is an important occasion for Millwall – it’s important to be a part of that and show respect but be professional too.

“I thought we were positive from the start until the end. I think we thoroughly deserved to win the game. It’s a tough place to come. We were quite accomplished.”

Gary Rowett is happy for Millwall to continue flying under the radar in their quest for a Championship play-off spot after starting the season with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.

Romain Esse’s 79th-minute strike secured victory at the Riverside for the Lions, who missed out on a top-six place on the final day of last term after their capitulation in a home defeat to Blackburn.

The Lions have strengthened with the addition of five senior players this summer, yet when most pundits were making predictions of who would be challenging for promotion this campaign, Millwall rarely featured on their lists.

Rowett accepts that his club might not have as high a profile as some of their Championship rivals, but is hoping they once again punch above their perceived weight over the course of the next nine months.

Rowett said: “It doesn’t bother us – we enjoy that underdog tag. We’ve had four seasons where we’ve been very, very close to the play-offs, and the last two seasons have gone to the last game.

“If people write us off, maybe that’s people who haven’t looked at our squad. I think we’ve strengthened well and I think we’ve got a good squad.

“If you look at this division, it’s always easy to pick the big-name teams or the teams that have come down from the Premier League, and I understand that. Nine times out of 10, those teams bounce back up because they have the quality and the resources.

“I’d expect a club like Middlesbrough to be ahead of us in people’s thoughts of what’s going to happen at the end of the season, but that doesn’t stop us from being what we are.

“People label Millwall a certain way, but if you look at today, yes we defended diligently, yes we transitioned well, but we actually played some really good football as well and we’ve got some talented players.”

That talent was apparent in Millwall’s winning goal, with two young substitutes combining to unlock the Middlesbrough defence.

Aidomo Emakhu skipped clear down the left to slide over a low cross and Esse produced a composed curled finish to claim his first senior goal.

The result was a setback for Middlesbrough, who continue to pursue a new left-back and centre-forward ahead of the transfer deadline.

Michael Carrick accepts his side looked short in the final third, although he did not want to attribute the final result to a lack of transfer activity in the last couple of weeks.

Carrick said: “It’s disappointing. We came here to try to win the game, but in the first game of the season, sometimes you don’t really know what to expect.

“I think we had good players on that pitch, who were capable of playing in a good team and playing well. They were capable of scoring goals and creating goals.

“Just because we lost the game, it doesn’t always mean what people might label it with. The players are definitely good enough. It doesn’t stop us from wanting to improve, but it’s an easy throwaway thing to say that because we didn’t win and we didn’t score, we need (new) players to get to where we want to be.

“I would like to add players, but I’m really happy with the players we’ve got in the squad.”

Gary Rowett rued Millwall’s inability to cope with the pressure of their play-off pursuit after they surrendered a two-goal lead and their top-six spot in a 4-3 Sky Bet Championship defeat against Blackburn.

The Lions went into the final-day showdown at The Den knowing a win would keep their dream to reach the Premier League alive and raced into a 3-1 half-time lead courtesy of Duncan Watmore’s brace and an addition from Oliver Burke.

But Joe Rankin-Costello’s close-range finish saw the momentum shift Blackburn’s way and Ben Brereton Diaz’s double completed a remarkable turnaround, with Sunderland claiming the final play-off berth at the expense of both sides courtesy of a 3-0 win at Preston.

“As soon as their (Blackburn’s) second went in, you could see the nerves appear in the team and space began to open up everywhere,” Rowett said.

“We got ourselves into a brilliant position but you have to handle these big moments, you have to do the right things and show control and calmness. That was something we needed to do better.

“Sometimes games throw different challenges and you either deal with them or you don’t – we didn’t and we have to work out the reasons why.

“We had to be resilient. We haven’t conceded four in a game all season before now, which shows what pressure does.

“Their fourth goal was immaterial, it was the third one which hurt us. We knew the other results, so we knew we needed a winner.

“In some ways, I’d have taken losing 1-0 more easily than losing 4-3 from 3-1 up as it feels like we’ve let it slip through our fingers.

“The season as a whole has been strong, one of progress, but at this moment in time it feels like an excuse to use that.”

Blackburn leapfrogged Millwall into seventh as a result of their victory but manager Jon Dahl Tomasson could not hide his disappointment after missing out on the play-offs on goal difference.

Rovers spent much of the season in the top six but a winless eight-match run going into this clash ultimately proved costly.

Blackburn scored the fewest goals of any side in the top 10 and their Danish boss said: “It is extremely disappointing to miss out on goal difference but we all know why we are not in the play-offs.

“We have been lacking goals – to score four today is part of life.

“We were a bit nervous at the beginning but after Adam (Wharton) equalised, we were in control before giving two stupid goals away.

“The second half was exceptional. I told the boys in that dressing room at half-time that if we got one back, we could win the game and we did it.

“This is not an easy place to come to, so to be 3-1 behind and turn it around like we did was excellent.”

Tomasson went on to confirm Rovers’ match-winner Brereton Diaz had played his last game for the club but praised the Chile international – who is out of contract this summer and has been linked with a move to Villarreal – for going out on a high.

“Ben has done really well for the club and I’m really happy for him to end with goals and play like that,” he added. “He’s a brilliant lad.”