Paul Robinson looking to roar on Lions
The beauty of live TV is that anything can happen.
You can guarantee one thing from Sky Sports’ live coverage on Saturday of the League One playoff final - their cameras will not be focusing on Millwall skipper Paul Robinson as the teams leave the dressing room.
Robinson’s colourful language in the tunnel before their semi-final against Huddersfield forced Sky Sports to apologise on air.
But the Lions' centre half has refused to apologise and insists his fiery language had a positive effect on the side’s performance. Expect no difference this Saturday.
Robinson told the Mirror: “The tunnel’s a highly-charged place. It was just unfortunate that I happened to be standing in front of the cameras at the time and the microphones picked up everything.
“It seemed to work - it got the lads going and we produced the performance we needed, so I’m not going to apologise for it.
“Of course I didn’t mean to offend anyone, but we had to do what we had to do and it did help to intimidate Huddersfield. The tunnel is part of our workplace and the language can be a bit industrial - that’s especially the case at the Den.
“It’s an intimidating place for visiting teams to come and we like to kick that off in the tunnel before the game. We can sense their nerves a bit and we like to make it intimidating just before we walk out, so I won’t change for Wembley.
“If that can give us an edge then long may that continue.”
Robinson has played a huge part in Millwall’s surge up the table in the second half of the season. Promotion looked a tall order in January, but a run of just three defeats in 27 games has pushed Kenny Jacket’s side to within touching distance of the Championship.
Millwall have been here before, a year ago in fact - they were on the receiving end of a thrilling playoff defeat against Scunthorpe United, where they were 20 minutes away from glory. Robinson, who was only used as a 90th minute sub last year, has admitted the heartbreak is still fresh in the memory within the squad.
“We want to be the first Millwall team to lift a trophy at Wembley,” he added.
“And I want to be the first Millwall captain to lift a trophy at Wembley and nobody wants to feel that hurt again. The lads will be using the memory of that hurt to run that extra yard and find that something to help us win the game.”
His opposite number, Swindon skipper Gordon Greer, is suspended and will miss the final, following a reckless challenge on Charlton’s Deon Burton in their semi-final clash. Swindon will no doubt miss his experience and influence.
Robins boss Danny Wilson, whose side go into the game as the underdogs, is “gutted” that the Scottish centre half will miss the big day out at Wembley.
“I'm gutted for him quite honestly," Wilson told BBC Wiltshire. "He's been immense at certain times this year.
"He would have been head and shoulders above anyone on that pitch because that's what he wanted so badly.
"He's obviously very, very disappointed but he knows that sometimes you are judged on split-second decisions and unfortunately the decision he made wasn't a good one.”
One consolation for Greer in the build up to tomorrow’s game is that Wilson still considers his captain to be an important part of the team at Wembley.
"He still has a contribution to make in and around the game and will be very valuable to us," he added.
Prediction – Millwall 1 Swindon 2
Tags: