Rovers won’t face Millwall’s intimidating New Den atmosphere this evening and will hope to continue the Championship’s theme of away wins.

There were seven away victories in the weekend fixtures, and five in midweek, as the absence of supporters has been felt by home teams.

Tony Mowbray feels the lack of atmosphere has made for a training ground feel, but with the same points at stake, says his players must find their own way to raise adrenaline levels.

And there is now no margin for error for Rovers, knowing only wins from their last three matches will be enough to secure a top six finish.

“Both teams know what’s at stake, but it will still feel like a practice match,” Mowbray said.

“It’s like walking out the steps to the training pitch with no crowd, no intimidation, you have to create your own adrenaline levels and then hope your quality will come out on top.

“It’s a strange feeling, whatever people say, it’s not football as we know it, I know the players have to perform on the grass, the individuals have to make the passes, win the headers, win the tackles, be brave with their forward runs, but it is different.

“Ultimately we’re all still getting judged on the results and hopefully we can find a way of going there and try and win a football match.

“I heard Gary Rowett saying they have to find a way to win at home because they’ve been struggling a little bit.

“We have to try and make life really difficult for them, but three points is all that matters.”

Millwall had lost just three times on home soil before the re-start, but have since taken just one point from the nine available following defeats to Derby and Middlesbrough.

He added: “Home advantage is massive in football. The ability of the crowd to engage with the home players, to drive them on, their frustrations and excitement get felt, it’s huge.

Footballers are human beings, they’re emotional, and they feel what’s going on in the stadium, the annoyance, the excitement, when they need help that the crowd are with them.

“It’s a huge issue for a lot of teams, maybe Millwall are finding that themselves. It’s a really tough place to go and play when the crowd get that noise going, it reverberates around the stadium and their players react to it. 

“Without fans, it’s no surprise the away victories are higher.”

  • Millwall can be unfairly pigeon-holed, according to Tony Mowbray, who was full of praise for the job that Gary Rowett has done.

The Lions are fifth in the form table since Rowett took charge in October, with the Lions well in the mix for a top six spot after their weekend win at Hull.

They have switched to a back three in recent weeks which has brought them success, but Mowbray doesn’t view them as the ‘long ball team’ that they have been branded by some.

He said: “They have good intensity levels, good footballers, they sometimes get pigeon-holed as being pretty direct, but I would say they have good intensity, they put the ball in your box, and why wouldn’t you? They get it wide, if you give free kicks or corners away they’re particularly good.

“The likes of Jed Wallace, we saw Ryan Leonard put one in the top corner from 35 yards, they have good players, and I think they can get pigeon-holed sometimes, but we have a lot of respect for how they play.

“Their coach is very experienced, he’s had success in his career, and will have his ideas on how they can win the game, and we have to go there and try and impose ourselves on them and see if we can get the points.”

 Jon Dadi Bodavrsson (knee) is a doubt for the hosts but Mahlon Romeo should return.