Gary Rowett admitted Millwall “kept the season alive” as a 2-1 victory over Hull left them on the fringe of the play-off places.
Goals from Scott Malone and Tom Bradshaw moved the hosts temporarily level with sixth-placed Sheffield United, who later edged a point ahead of the Lions with a 1-1 draw in their later kick-off at Bristol City.
And Rowett said: “I think the nice bit is we have kept the season alive, and that is a testament to the players and their attitude.
“I thought the crowd were really good today, getting behind us in the second half.
“We have just got to go and see if we can perform again.”
Malone’s bizarre opener came when Richie Smallwood’s attempted clearance rebounded off his shin and into the net from 20 yards, and Bradshaw quickly doubled the lead with a composed finish.
Tom Eaves pulled a late goal back for Hull but Rowett said: “I thought we looked really comfortable in the game up until that point.
“We got a bit of good fortune for the first goal but I actually thought we saw the game out pretty comfortably in the end, but it is always nervy when you are at 2-0.
“All we can do is keep trying to win our games and keep trying to put pressure on and pick points up.
“But it is the same scenario, if Sheffield United win their game later then it becomes another three points, so we can’t really control that.
“All we can do is our side of the bargain, we have done it today, and then we’ll see what position we are in next week.”
Hull are safe from relegation in 19th but manager Shota Arveladze urged them to find a nasty side after their six-game unbeaten run away from home came to an end.
Arveladze said: “That is football, sometimes you cannot be soft, be nice.
“You can play nice, but you cannot be nice.
“We had a positive attitude on making sure we didn’t give up and playing until the last minute, this is all positive, which is great, but we have to keep working on not being too nice.
“Winning the second ball and not letting the ball bounce when the goalkeeper has kicked it. These kind of things have cost us the game.
“It is about the experience. There are boys who catch things quicker, and we can see every week that eventually, it happens.
“Here, when the atmosphere is great with people singing and supporting their team, it is great to see.
“But after the first half, when we kept them out without the ball, the crowd was quiet, but when you give them more possibilities to beat you, they will awaken and then it is tough.
“We were disappointed to concede like that. Of course, it is a tough place to come and play.
“They are chasing the play-offs, but we have not been worse than them.”
