Millwall manager Neil Harris has described his side's upcoming Championship game with Leeds United as "the biggest game of the season by far".
Harris witnessed his side crash out of the FA Cup in dramatic fashion at the weekend, surrendering a two-goal lead late on against Brighton before eventually losing on penalties to their Premier League opponents.
Despite his side coming within moments of reaching the last four of the cup on Sunday, the Millwall boss has insisted that the Championship clash with Leeds after the international break is "miles bigger" than the FA Cup quarter-final.
“The FA Cup’s been a great adventure. We’ve had some great days but we’ve got nine cup finals to go," said the Millwall boss, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“We have to take those battling qualities, some of the quality we had with the ball and certainly the energy levels and defensive doggedness into those nine cup finals.
“The biggest game of the season by far, miles bigger than (Brighton), is Leeds away in two weeks’ time.”
The Verdict:
Harris is right. Millwall are currently 20th in the Championship table, just one point above the drop zone and face a serious fight to remain in the division.
The players must somehow find a way of putting the weekend's disappointment behind them and focus all their attention on the remaining nine league matches - starting with the trip to Elland Road on March 30.
Leeds will be determined to bounce back from the weekend's defeat to Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, which saw them fall out of the top two in the race for automatic promotion.
Therefore, the Marcelo Bielsa's players will also be desperate for three points and the Millwall players will have to be at their absolute best to beat them.
It is vital they refocus their attention on that game or they are in serious danger of falling out of the division.
Harris can take confidence not only from his side's performance at the weekend but also from the fact that they came close to beating Leeds when the two sides met at the Den in the reverse fixture in September.