SKIPPER Paul Robinson sees no reason why Millwall can’t repeat what Mark McGhee’s side achieved the last time the Lions won promotion to English football’s second tier.

McGhee led the Lions from promotion to fourth place and the play-offs in 2002, although Millwall ultimately missed out on a place in the top flight after being beaten in the play-off semi-final by Birmingham.

Robinson was still a young professional embarking on his career at The Den back then and didn’t feature in the first team but the memory is still fresh for the current Lions captain.

He said: “There was no pressure on them and they finished fourth.

“The season they got promoted, again it was a young hungry squad with a bit of experience.

“They went up to this level and had an incredible season where they finished fourth and it was an excellent team.

“Even then if I remember rightly I don’t think Mark McGhee made additions at the time and it just shows you what can be achieved at this level with hard work and determination.

“That is almost the model for us to follow.

“All of the lads here want to prove themselves in the Championship and that is what we will be working hard towards.”

Despite the optimism, Robinson says there are no specific targets as such for the side.

He explained: “We want to establish ourselves as a Championship side, that is the biggest aim.

“We’ve been working hard to get back here and now we are back here, we want to work hard to establish ourselves at this level.

“Everyone is desperate to prove themselves at this level and that is what we will be aiming to do.”

Robinson added: “It was good to finish the season on a winning note with the prospect of the Championship to look forward to all summer.

“As soon as the fixtures came out, I couldn’t wait for the season to start.

“Training has been good and the lads have been working incredibly hard.

“They came back in great shape and with only a short break you can see they didn’t lose much fitness. It is a really ambitious squad and they’ve come back hungry.

“It was nice for me to come back because I missed most of pre-season last year. It is good to have that in the bank for the long English season.”

Millwall will be looking to emulate last season’s home form when they only suffered defeat once at The Den.

There aren’t many teams who will fancy there chances at the stadium this season, something Robinson and his colleagues are already aware of.

He said: “The lads are speaking to other players in the game and they’ve all said they aren’t looking forward to going to The Den this season.

“It was a fortress for us last season and I thought our home form was excellent.

Losing only one game at home all season was an excellent return and we just have to make sure we maintain that level and it remains an intimidating place to play.

“We as players urge the fans to help recreate that.

“Let’s keep on a roll and keep the good times going. The crowd were fantastic last season and they lifted the lads on many an occasion.

“The atmosphere here was unbelievable. We’ve all been working hard and hopefully we can recreate that atmosphere in the Championship.

“We’ve got to lift each other on and off the pitch and I’m sure together as a club we can achieve things at this level.”