Matt Smith has said 'it's all to play for' as he hopes to fire his Millwall side to an unexpected top-six finish in the Championship this season.

It seems like an age ago when Neil Harris was Millwall manager. The Lions legend though had overseen 10 Championship games this season before walking, amassing 11 points and leaving his beloved club in 18th-place of the table, five points above the drop.

Fast-forward to now though and Millwall are a play-off chasing team under Gary Rowett, and Cardiff too under Harris.

It'll be a bizarre end to a bizarre season for many clubs, but both Harris and Millwall are better off for parting ways with each other, and 8th-place Millwall could yet face 9th-place Cardiff in the play-offs.

Smith, who arrived at The Den from QPR last summer, spoke to London News Online about his side's top-six credentials, and outlined what his side's 'secret weapon' is:

“We’ve gone above and beyond what people would’ve expected of us,” said Smith, who scored a first-half hat-trick at Nottingham Forest last time out.

“The pressure was probably on Forest more. We can probably use that underdog mentality as a bit of a weapon this season. All we can do is worry about our own form. With nine games to go it is all to play for.”

There's a host of teams sitting just outside the top-six. It's become a really fascinating conclusion to the season because there's so many teams in contention and so few points separating them - Millwall sit just two points outside the top-six.

“If you look at the results since the manager came through the door it is play-off form," explained Smith. "So we can’t be too despondent about recent results – as a collective it’s been very positive.

“The Championship is a tough league – you’re going to have spells and streaks where you’re hot and where you’re not.”

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Smith, who's previously represented the likes of Leeds United, Fulham, Bristol City, QPR and Millwall in the Championship, had endured a spell on the bench through February.

He was going through a dry patch in-front of goal but after a hat-trick in his last game, and now four in his last two, he's taken his season tally to a respectable 12 in all competitions.

The verdict

Millwall have every chance of securing a place in the play-offs this season, but there's still a lot of football to play and a lot of teams vying to snatch a late spot in the top-six.

Smith was at his very best in that first 45-minutes at the City Ground, and Rowett will need more of the same if he's to guide them to an unprecedented top-six finish in his first half-season in charge.