Donachie rekindles hope for lions' fans

By Suzanne Roberts-Attwood on April 19, 2007 12:00 AM |

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LIKE many fans on Saturday, I left the Den feeling frustrated that, despite a fighting display by Millwall and Tranmere on the pitch, our dreams of gaining a place in the play-offs seemed all but over.
Our success this season has, yet again, been marred by changes on and off the pitch, but Willie Donachie's takeover of the reins of the playing squad has been pivotal to our success. The team have (finally) bonded and can be seen to communicate with each other. The camaraderie that existed under Dennis Wise as player/manager has returned. The players respect and value Willie's leadership and professional attitude.
Willie has insisted the team should be pushing for a place in the play-offs.

The fans tried to share his enthusiasm, but unexpected defeats to Port Vale and Bournemouth (ruining my weekend jolly to the seaside!) meant that our optimism was thwarted and the cynics among us felt that promotion was a pipe dream. But our performances over the Easter holiday weekend instilled us with a renewed belief that maybe we could be in with a chance of returning to the Championship.
However, a well-played game against Tranmere on Saturday, in which both teams demonstrated a desire to win, resulted in a 2-2 draw.
Apparently, Willie was fuming in the dressing room at full time - and blasted the players for letting their guard down after Alan Dunne's second goal took us into the lead, allowing Tranmere to score their equaliser just two minutes later. Believe me, there were several thousand supporters who left the Den feeling just as frustrated.
However, it wasn't just the faithful Lions fans who felt this way. Fans all over the country were on the edge of their seats as they watched their promotion hopes and relegation fears become a reality. My sympathies went to the Addicks supporters as they faced the risk of the drop. Disappointment at my failure to predict the Grand National winner (despite hedging my bets and putting my hard-earned on no fewer than FOUR runners), was compensated by the news that Sheffield United had won 3-0. My unexpected feelings of respect are extended, by the way, to Michael Tonge.
Still, football is a funny old game - who knows, if every other team above Millwall in the battle for the play-offs loses their game this Saturday and we scoop a win at Huddersfield, then maybe, just maybe, Willie's optimism may prove to be correct and we could be meeting old rivals again next season, gaining our customary four points against Boleyn's Boys (three at our place and one at theirs!).
But as they say: "It ain't over till the fat lady sings," and with your regular columnist Ian Toal away on his holidays for the next few weeks, I may be back to warble a few tunes. I hope for all our sakes, that that won't be the case.
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