Cup final can leave dark days of Millwall’s past behind, says chairman
The Lions head into English football’s showpiece event for the first time in their 119-year history aiming to cast off an unwanted reputation and show the world they have changed for the better.
No-one has done more to eradicate the blight of hooliganism which has long dogged the south London club than its chairman, and Paphitis believes the transformation will be complete if they can avoid trouble in Cardiff.
He said: “An image is exactly what it is. I drew a line under it a long time ago. Other people still haven’t.
“The cup final has certainly put the club in the limelight for the right reasons.
“This game will be shown all around the world, it will put Millwall’s name in the frame and hopefully attract some new supporters.
“There’s been lots of bad publicity but we’ve just got to do what we’re doing and let our achievements on and off the pitch do our talking for us.”
Paphitis introduced a membership scheme in the wake of the riots outside the Den which followed Millwall’s play-off defeat by Birmingham two years ago.
Since then, arrests around the ground have plummeted and last season only two people were arrested for offences of football violence.
An initial ban on away fans at high-risk matches has been relaxed but the scheme will continue next season despite hurting the club financially by reducing attendances.
Yet Paphitis insists the club’s history means Millwall must work harder than anyone else to reform because they are continually under the spotlight.
Paphitis said: “As long as people keep bringing up everything that goes wrong - if we sneeze here, it’s an earthquake ... but one of the things I constantly try to explain to our fans is, that’s life, live with it, it just means we’ve got to work harder.
“I think we’ve seen since the membership scheme has been in place our arrest rates have been among the lowest in the first division for the last two seasons. That doesn’t get a lot of publicity but I think that in itself shows you what we’re all about.”
Millwall set alarm bells ringing across the continent by qualifying for next season’s UEFA Cup because their cup final opponents Manchester United are in the Champions League.
But assistant manager Ray Wilkins insists Europe has nothing to fear when Lions fans travel abroad to support their team.
He said: “People ask if Europe should fear our supporters next year and you have to say no they shouldn’t.
“Since I’ve been here I don’t think I’ve seen anything untoward at any game. The work that Theo and his gang have done is immense. They’ve done a good job in taking that away.
“I’m sure the noise you will hear generated from our supporters at the Millennium Stadium will leave people thinking this club has turned around and that it’s supported by a good bunch of blokes.”
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