Gary Rowett hailed the impact of Danny McNamara after his first two goals in a Millwall shirt capped a comprehensive 4-1 win over vulnerable Barnsley at the Den.
On his 50th appearance for the Lions, the 23-year-old wing-back opened the scoring in the first half of the Sky Bet Championship contest when he arrived late in the box to convert a Jed Wallace cross.
And he then doubled his tally for the game, the season and his club just two minutes after the break, this time heading in a deep delivery from fellow wing-back Scott Malone.
Rowett was delighted for the Irishman, revealing there has been work behind the scenes to improve his attacking game.
The Lions boss said: “He’s been getting into those positions. I know Robbo’s been working with Danny trying to get a little bit higher, reading the game and getting in at the back post.
“He’s done really well, particularly in some of the home games where a Danny McNamara crunching tackle sets everyone off and gets the atmosphere going.”
McNamara was substituted late in the second half with a tight hamstring, but Rowett said it was simply a precautionary measure.
Romal Palmer hit back for the Tykes early in the second half before Oliver Burke and Benik Afobe put the result beyond all doubt to boost Millwall’s play-off hopes and cut the gap to sixth place to four points.
However, Rowett acknowledged there is still no margin for error if the south London side are to finish in the top six for the first time in his three-year reign.
“We’re going to have to put a run together, quite simply,” he said. “There’s no other way of looking at it.
“We’re probably going to have to win two more games than a lot of other sides.
“I think we’ve been in this position probably every season. It’s not easy to take the next step but I think what’s important is the players give everything they’ve got to try.”
Barnsley boss Poya Asbaghi was disappointed that his team let their performance levels drop after a promising start, especially in light of some haphazard defending in the second half.
He said: “I think in the beginning of the first half we looked better than a team that was fighting for the play-offs.
“But if you look at the overall performance in the 90 minutes, it was not good enough for a team that wants to stay in the league.”
Barnsley now face an almost insurmountable task to stay in the second tier of English football.
They need to claw back Paul Ince’s Reading – who sit eight points clear of the Tykes – with just six games remaining and have a difficult challenge on Easter Friday when they travel to in-form Swansea.
“We let the fans down, and they were the best Barnsley players today by far,” added Asbaghi.
“We have to make sure that they cannot see that in the next game we play against Swansea.
“We will put on a bigger fight. It is going to be even tougher. It is going to be against the most comfortable team on the ball in the league.
“We have to make sure that next time they travel to watch us they will see players that will go in with their heads first in every duel, unlike today.”
