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‘Carnage’: welcome to Championship playoff race as crunch time arrives

14-Apr-2023 11:48:10 | The Guardian

Genuine contenders run right down to 11th place and Preston are a rare form team outside top three as they head to Millwall

Different protagonists but the same breathless scramble. Gary Rowett struck a chord when, asked whether the Championship’s essence had changed in almost a decade of guiding some of its contenders towards the run-in, he alighted on the perfect descriptor. “It’s pretty much the same,” the Millwall manager began. “You get a lot of different nationalities, styles, different ways people run their clubs. But ultimately ‘carnage’ is probably the one consistent word I would use.”

Rowett has taken Millwall through 41 games of what, for most behind the runaway leaders Burnley, has been the standard rollercoaster ride. They are fifth and holding on in a chase for top-six spots that have come to resemble the hottest of potatoes. The Lions have won only once in their past five games; incredibly that goes for every side between fourth and 13th, except one.