Millwall were tipped to be a surprise package in the Championship this season - but it's been a tough start to Gary Rowett's first full campaign at The Den.

The Lions have collected five points from a possible 12 available - suffering just one defeat - but just three in the goals scored column tells it's own story.

Millwall would have occupied the final top-six place had they beaten Swansea on Saturday, but their struggles going forward continued in south Wales.

Here, we've had a look at ONE winner and ONE loser from Millwall's start to the season.

Have Millwall ever loaned out any of these 9 players?

 

 

Loser: Troy Parrott

When Troy Parrott secured a season-long loan deal from Tottenham at the beginning of August, Lions fans could barely contain their excitement at the prospect of seeing one of the Premier League's most exciting talents turning out at The Den.

He lived up to all expectations in pre-season by scoring in the victories over Bromley and Southend. However, since suffering a quad injury in that friendly at Roots Hall, it's gone from bad to worse for the Republic of Ireland frontman.

Parrott missed both of Millwall's first two Championship matches, plus their EFL Cup ties against Crawley Town and Cheltenham.

A little more than three weeks later, the 18-year-old would eventually make his competitive debut for the Lions in the EFL Cup third-round tie against Burnley. But things quickly went from bad to worse for the teenager, who sustained another injury, this time to his ankle - which forced him off at the break.

Parrott hasn't appeared since and is facing a number of weeks on the sidelines. It's too early to write off such a talent, but his start to life at The Den has been nothing short of a nightmare.

Winner: Matt Smith

Despite finishing last season as Millwall's top goalscorer, Matt Smith hasn't yet started a league game and has cut a frustrated in the early weeks of the campaign.

Smith could easily have been the Lions' loser instead of Parrott, given he's only played 52 minutes of Championship football this season. But with the youngster now injured, and both Tom Bradshaw and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson struggling for goals, Smith's opportunity surely has to come sooner rather than later.

The 6ft6 striker doesn't offer the same work-rate as some of Millwall's more agile centre-forward's, but his goalscoring record speaks for himself and only Aleksander Mitrovic scored more frequently than Smith in the second-tier last term.