Millwall's Promotion Hopes Depend on Away Form
Casper De Norre knows exactly where Millwall’s promotion push will live or die this season: on the road.
The Belgian midfielder was at the heart of a Lions side that turned away days into a weapon last year, and he sees no reason to dial it back now. Millwall collected 41 points from 23 away games in the 2025-26 Championship campaign – the best record in the division – and matched champions Coventry City with 11 wins on their travels.
They have started this season as if they intend to do it all over again.
Lions pick up where they left off
Alex Neil’s team opened the new campaign with a sharp, controlled 2-0 win at Bristol City on Saturday, immediately tapping back into that ruthless away streak.
"It's very important if you want to achieve what we're trying to achieve to go and get into those play-offs again," De Norre told BBC Radio London after the victory.
He didn’t dress it up. If Millwall are serious about another tilt at the top six, the away form cannot dip.
"You have to be very good both at home and away, so it's very good that we can start with an away win,” he said. “We're off to a perfect start. It's always a difficult game away at Bristol. I think the game just played out perfectly for us."
The performance at Ashton Gate carried the hallmarks of last season’s best work: organised without the ball, clinical when chances arrived, and utterly unfazed by the venue.
Raising the bar
With two extra play-off spots on offer this year, the Championship landscape has shifted, but De Norre’s target remains brutally simple.
Asked what counts as realistic for Millwall this time around, the 29-year-old replied: "Try to be a bit better than we were last year.
"Go into the play-offs and try and finish it in the play-offs rather than going out."
That last line bites hardest. Millwall have reached the second-tier play-offs four times and fallen at the semi-final stage on each occasion. The scars are there, and so is the motivation.
Last season’s near miss only sharpened that edge. The Lions finished a single point behind second-placed Ipswich Town, agonisingly short of automatic promotion and the end of a long exile from the elite.
Millwall have not played top-flight football since 1990. For a club that came within touching distance in May, the message from De Norre is clear: match the ferocity of last year’s away form, push it a notch higher, and this time make the final step count.
