"We go under a bit" Millwall admission will be music to the ears of Sheffield Wednesday, QPR, Stoke City and co

That was the startling and brutally honest admission of their manager Joe Edwards in the moments after defeat inflicted by Sheffield Wednesday consigned them to a sixth loss in seven matches, their last win having arrived as far back as New Year's Day.

The words will come as music to the ears of Wednesday and the others teams in a relegation battle Millwall have been sucked into the centre of, the Lions just four clear of the Owls and a point clear of the safety line after QPR's win against Bristol City. Goals from Ike Ugbo and Anthony Musaba gave Danny Röhl's side a 2-0 win at half-time before they withheld a second half in which Millwall threw everything they had at the Owls box, leaving the home fans furious and Edwards a picture of concern post-match.

"When it goes well and the people support you and you get a lot of adulation it’s all great," Edwards told reporters. "But when you underperform, and people feel like you have let them down, they have got every right to voice and express that.

"You can see our team is playing with a lack of confidence. We continuously have these spells at The Den – a place we want to make a fortress and be hard for other teams to come and get something – we’re having moments where we go under a bit and don’t react well. We have to face up to that and deal with it better."

Edwards made clear he felt Wednesday hadn't dominated the match but that they were more clinical in key moments, scoring from both their shots on target. For all their 58 per cent possession and efforts in the second half in particular, the home side mustered three. Millwall sit 22nd in the home form table with only 16 points and have half their 14 matches still to play at The Den.

Edwards continued: "Today was just… box to box we didn’t really get dominated by Sheffield Wednesday but when it came to them having an opportunity to hurt us, they had two moments and scored two goals. The ball across the goal was clean and fast and they’re there to finish it.

"We’re not defending our goal well enough at the moment, it’s too easy to score against us out of nothing moments. And then at the other end, although it wasn’t domination or good control, we had a lot of the game particularly in the second half and still don’t create anywhere near enough.

"And that’s a sign of a team that’s going into games with a lot of good intentions but clearly playing with a lack of confidence and a lack of conviction which ultimately really presents itself in a lack of quality and we’re not doing enough to get results.”