‘The lads need to have the appetite to learn’

After Tuesday night’s 3-0 friendly victory over AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane, Alex Neil commended his team’s

“attitude and application.”

The first half goals against Johnnie Jackson’s League Two 2024-25 play-off champions came from Femi Azeez and

Jack Howland, while the third goal came from Mihailo Ivanovic after the interval.

It was low into the bottom corner when Azeez finished. Millwall shared video from their preseason training camp in

Spain showing Azeez practicing those kinds of finishes with Neil and first team coach David Livermore.

Neil was eager to commend his players for their willingness to go above and beyond

“I believe that’s pretty typical for many of the guys; at some point, we’ll conduct individual drills for them that we

believe are unique to their role,” Neil told NewsAtDen. Femi combining, getting down the flanks, and scoring, or the

striker backing in, spinning, and attempting to link the game.

His goal is quite similar to one of the drills—in fact, he cuts back inside on his left foot and places it in the far corner

—so it’s interesting. I know the drill you’re referring to.

“All those little bits help. I’m not saying he’s scored the goal because we did a drill with him. But certainly our job is

to try to improve the players, improve their understanding, improve their technique, and I think we’re making good

progress in that sense.

“But that’s a 50/50 thing. We can’t do it ourselves, the lads need to have an appetite to learn and get better and

improve and continue to train hard.

“They’ve certainly got that. As far as attitude and application is concerned we’ve got no problems whatsoever. The

lads are excellent.”

“Every little bit helps. We practiced with him, so I’m not claiming he scored the goal. However, it is undoubtedly our

responsibility to work towards the players’ improvement, including their comprehension and technique, and I

believe we are making significant strides in that direction.

However, that is a 50/50 situation. We cannot accomplish this on our own; the boys must be eager to learn, grow,

and keep up their hard training.

“They definitely possess that. We have no issues at all with regard to attitude and application. The lads are excellent.”

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