Millwall have managed to have another solid season in the Championship this term under Gary Rowett, although there might be slight frustrations over the fact they have drawn too many games.

The Lions headed into the campaign looking to build on the progress they made under Rowett after he took over from Neil Harris last term. Millwall finished the season in 8th place and were only two points adrift of Swansea City who finished in the final play-off position.

However, things have not gone as smoothly as Millwall would have been aiming for this time around, with them having had a couple of lengthy spells without winning a game and also having drawn 16 of their Championship games. That is at least four more than any other side and perhaps shows they have lacked that last bit of quality to edge tight games.

Saturday’s 1-0 win at Derby County did highlight all of the good sides of the Lions in terms of their resilience and defensive organisation but their 3-2 loss to QPR then did the opposite, so there's still work to do.

Rowett will still feel he is doing a solid enough job and that with a few more additions in the summer he can take the club forwards.

Here, though, we take a look back at previous managers of the club and rank the ten best performing Lions bosses in terms of points they accumulated per game starting from when the three points for a win rule was introduced. Click ‘next’ to scroll through the list…

Starting off this list is John Docherty who managed Millwall for two separate spells, but it is his first spell in charge from May 1986 to February 1990 in which he accumulated 1.32 points per game that is the focus here.

Docherty was appointed as Millwall’s manager to replace the departing George Graham in 1986 and he was tasked with building on from the excellent work that Graham had done for the Lions during his spell in charge of the club. He was certainly able to do that in his second campaign in charge guiding the Lions to the second division title for the first time in the club’s history.

The Lions performed well in their first campaign in the top-flight under Docherty and even topped the league table at one stage before going on to end the season in a very respectable 10th place. However, that was to be as good as it got for Millwall and in the 1989/90 season, they were relegated bottom of the table.

Millwall made the decision to part company with Docherty just before they were relegated from the first division. Overall, he managed to win 66 and draw 43 of his 173 games in charge in that spell leaving him with 1.32 points per match.

Coming in at number nine on this list is Willie Donachie, who spent just under a year in charge of the club between November 2006 and October 2007 and accumulated 1.42 points per game.

Donachie took over at Millwall back in November 2006 a few months after he left Ipswich Town having been overlooked for the manager’s role at Portman Road in favour of Jim Magilton. He initially joined the Lions as assistant to Nigel Spackman, but he eventually took over on a permanent basis following the departure of Spackman in September when they were bottom of League One.

Having taken over with the Lions looking in potential relegation danger, Donachie managed to steady the ship and guide the club to a tenth-place finish with 66 points accumulated. He was handed a new two-year deal in March 2007, but he would eventually be sacked in October of that year with the Lions sitting once again inside the drop zone in League One.

Number eight on this list is the unforgettable figure of Dennis Wise who managed to accumulate 1.43 points per game during his time in charge of the club.

Wise was appointed by the club in October 2003 in a player-manager role and he managed to enjoy some notable successes in the job which included guiding the Lions all the way to the FA Cup final in the 2004/05 season where they were beaten by Manchester United. That helped the club to qualify for European football for the first time in their history.

However, despite that success Wise would leave the club in May 2005 after a meeting with the club’s new chairman Jeff Burnige. That came despite him having guided the Lions to a tenth place finish in the second tier and after he had only signed a one-year extension to his contract in December 2004.

After Theo Paphitis departed the club Wise and the new chairman made the decision to part company and the club looked to take a different path heading into the 2005/06 campaign.

In seventh place on this list is Mick McCarthy who has developed a strong reputation for himself as a manager and achieved a lot of success in his career to date. Things all started for him with the Lions and he managed to accumulate 1.44 points per match.

McCarthy would takeover at Millwall from Bruce Rioch as player-manager in March 1992 and he would eventually stop playing to concentrate solely on his managerial responsibilities which came officially after his first full campaign in charge. During that first season in charge, he guided the club to 7th place just missing out on the play-offs in the first division by six points.

The following campaign would see him take Millwall to the play-offs with an impressive third-place finish after claiming 19 wins from their 46 league matches that term. However, they would endure a miserable play-off semi-final with Derby County who beat them home and away and 5-1 on aggregate to end their hopes of promotion.

After that disappointment, there was to be a further blow for the Lions in the 1995/96 campaign, with McCarthy emerging as a contender for the Republic of Ireland job. He was officially announced as their manager in February 1996. Overall, at Millwall, McCarthy won 74 and drew 70 of his 203 games in charge meaning he finished up with 1.44 points per game.

Coming in at number six is current Millwall manager Gary Rowett who has so far managed to accumulate an impressive 1.48 points per game.

Rowett arrived at The Den in October 2019 taking over from Neil Harris. He had been tasked with building on the successes that the former Lions forward had achieved in taking the club to promotion to the Championship and then stabilising them at that level. Things got off to an excellent start for the former Stoke City boss and he managed to guide the club to 8th last term.

So far this season the Lions have not been able to threaten any real play-off challenge. However, they have remained one of the most difficult sides to beat in the division and have shown they can be a match for anyone in the league on their day. Rowett will hope he can see his side to a strong end to the campaign and then look to challenge a little more closely next season.

In fifth place here is Mark McGhee, who is just above Rowett’s current points per game record having managed to accumulate 1.50 points per game during his time in charge at the Den.

McGhee was appointed Millwall manager in September 2000 after a brief spell working with Coventry City as a scout. He came into the club to replace the departed duo of Keith Stevens and Alan McLeary and he managed to enjoy immediate success with the Lions winning the second division title that same campaign finishing two points clear of Rotherham United on 93 points.

The following season saw McGhee establish the Lions as a real force in the second tier and the Lions racked up an impressive 22 wins from their 46 league matches to finish in 4th place and reach the play-offs. However, they were beaten in the play-off semi-finals, as they had been under McCarthy, losing over two-legs to eventual play-off winners Birmingham City.

After a ninth-place finish in 2002/03 things started to turn a bit sour for McGhee in terms of his relationship with Theo Paphitis and he eventually left the club in October 2003 after a 1-0 loss against Preston North End.

Coming in at number four on this list is Keith Stevens and co-manager Alan McLeary with the pair having managed to accumulate 1.51 points per game during their time in charge.

Stevens was named as the club’s new player-manager in May 1998 following the departure of Billy Bonds and he initially appointed McLeary as his assistant before promoting him to co-manager in May 1999. It was hoped that they could lead the club to promotion to the first division but they ended up finishing in 10th place in the 1998/99 season on 62 points.

The following campaign the Lions improved with McLeary now assisting Stevens as co-manager and the pair helped to guide the club to a fifth-place finish in the third tier with them having taken 82 points from their 46 league matches. However, the Lions would suffer disappointment in the play-offs losing 1-0 on aggregate to Wigan Athletic.

In September 2000 the controversial decision was made by Millwall to part company with the duo as they turned to a new manager to get them promoted and that honour fell to Mark McGhee who took the squad they had built to the second division title. Overall, the pair won 48 and drew 31 of their 116 games leaving them with 1.51 points per game.

In at third place on this list is Kenny Jackett, who has just been relieved of his duties at Portsmouth this week. He enjoyed a largely successful spell in charge of the Lions and managed to accumulate 1.51 points per game.

Jackett eventually arrived at Millwall in November 2007 after he had initially ruled himself out of the running for the job following the departure of Willie Donachie. However, the Lions were eventually able to persuade him to leave his role as reserve team manager at Manchester City and take the job at the Den.

The Lions finished the 2007/08 campaign in 17th place in League One. However, the following year Jackett managed to turn things around and guided the Lions to the play-offs with a 5th place finish in the third tier having taken 82 points from their 46 games. They defeated Leeds United 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals before losing a dramatic final 3-2 at New Wembley to Scunthorpe United.

The 2009/10 season saw the club again reach the play-offs after finishing in third place in League One. This time things were different and they beat Swindon Town in the final to reach the Championship. He guided the club to a ninth-place finish in the second tier the following term. However, after battling the drop and also reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in the next two seasons he resigned in May 2013.

Second place for Millwall in terms of records for points accumulated per game as permanent manager is Neil Harris, who is incidentally their second most recent manager as well. The former Lions stalwart managed to pick up an impressive 1.52 points per game.

A club legend from his playing days, Millwall made the decision to appoint Harris as their permanent manager in the summer of 2015 after they had entrusted him to take over as caretaker manager after Ian Holloway’s dismissal in March 2015. He won two and drew four of his nine matches but could not keep the club in the Championship.

In his first season in charge in 2015/16 Harris led Millwall to a fourth-place finish in League One as they missed out on automatic promotion by just four points. They defeated Bradford City 4-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, but they were eventually beaten by a quality Barnsley side in the play-off final meaning they had to start again in the third tier.

The 2016/17 campaign had a happier ending with Harris leading them to promotion from the play-offs after a sixth-place finish beating Bradford City in the final. The following campaign Millwall challenged for the Championship play-offs before just missing out in 8th place. The 2018/19 campaign was much tougher and they ended up just avoiding relegation before a tough start to last term saw him leave the club in October 2019.

Millwall’s most successful manager in terms of points accumulated per game at the moment is former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur boss George Graham who picked up 1.60 points per game.

Graham was given a tough baptism of fire in terms of his managerial career with his permanent position coming at Millwall after a spell working as a coach at Crystal Palace. In December 1982 the Lions appointed him when they were bottom of the third division and in real danger of relegation. However, he proved to be an instant success and guided them to safety that campaign.

The following campaign in 1983/84 he guided the Lions to a 9th placed finish in the third division having picked up 67 points from their 46 games. The next campaign would see Graham lead the club to promotion to the second division with a second-placed finish having picked up an impressive tally of 90 points.

The 1985/86 season would be Graham’s last in charge of the club and he guided them to a 9th place finish in the second division. He would leave the club in May 1986 and eventually be handed the Arsenal job. Overall, he managed to win 86 and drew 47 of his 191 games in charge giving him a 1.60 points per game record.