KENNY Jackett is confident chairman John Berylson will not walk away from The Den after Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final with Wigan was spoiled by a tiny minority of fans fighting.
The weekend disorder attracted big headlines both at home and abroad after being beamed live on TV across the globe, prompting some Lions supporters to fear Mr Berylson might decide enough is enough and end his reign as chairman.
He wasn’t present for Tuesday’s vital 1-0 home win over Watford having already returned to the United States after the Wembley game.
But Jackett doesn’t believe there is any reason to assume Mr Berylson is considering withdrawing from Millwall on the back of all the negative publicity generated from the Wigan game.
“I don’t think he will, no,” the Lions manager told News Shopper.
“He knows the amount of genuine people there are here and the passion for the club they have.
“There was quite a lot of trouble over that particular weekend at the Newcastle v Sunderland derby.
“To what degree is it our problem and to what degree is it society’s problem?
“That’s the question and isn’t something you can talk about in one newspaper article.
“It does go deeper than football and goes right across the board.
“There are unemployment problems in south London, there are a lot of things to consider and a lot of things that come into it.”
Jackett kept his counsel about the trouble in the post-match Wembley press conference, pointing out at the time he would need to see the crowd disorder on TV for himself before commenting, something he has now done.
He said: “I have seen the footage and the images and they are disappointing.
“But again, what percentage of people is that?
“There are a lot of very good people who both work at Millwall and support the club, and that makes it a fantastic club.
“We will meet our problems head on and will certainly comply with every investigation into the problems, with an FA investigation ongoing now.
“After that we will make sure we pull together as a club and then go again.
“You could see on Tuesday night in the second half there was a fantastic response from the crowd and then the players.
“Against Watford in the first half we got the run-around and did very well with some great blocks and last-ditch tackles made sure we hung in there.
“We got a bit of a chasing in the first half but after the break the crowd really came into play and lifted the players.
“It was much more even and competitive.
“We were then the ones who got the one goal that was needed to go on and win the game, so I saw a fantastic pulling together of everybody led by the crowd in the second half.”
Many Millwall fans feel the national press have once again blown the incident out of proportion bearing in mind the small numbers involved in the disturbance compared to the 32,000 followers the club took to the semi-final, a viewpoint Jackett has some sympathy for.
When asked if the subsequent reporting had been over the top, the boss replied: “We know what the media are like.
“It is their job to sell stories and I’m sure they would deem it serious enough to have to say what they say.
“I understand that but from our point of view it is a small percentage in a fantastic club.
“We are at the forefront of dealing with the problem, we do take our responsibilities, we will meet it head on and do everything we can to make sure we eradicate any problems.
“After that there are a lot of good people to think about as well.”
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