Jake Cooper admitted that Millwall are happy with their form – and revealed the key to their flurry of clean sheets in recent weeks.
The Lions were held to a goalless draw by London rivals Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday, but it was enough to move them up to 19th in the Championship standings and extend their lead on the relegation-zone to two points with six matches remaining.
And Cooper – who is one of just three ever-present outfield players in the Championship this season – was delighted with the shut-out, echoing Neil Harris' thoughts about it being a point gained rather than two dropped, especially after none of the teams around them won.
"They came with an obvious game plan - they made it difficult for us and very scrappy, he said. "It was a battle and we had to weather the storm at times. We did that well and got a couple of chances ourselves.
"It was one of those games where we could have played for 300 minutes and there wouldn't have been a goal in it. It was a tough game and one we're happy with a clean sheet. A point gained from our perspective.
"We didn't expect to come here, turn up like we did on Saturday and produce a performance and a result. We need to mix up our style of play according to the teams we play against. I thought we did that today but were just lacking that bit of quality in the final third. We're happy with our form."
Millwall struggled in an attacking sense – with Cooper's second-half header the only meaningful time that R's goalkeeper Joe Lumley was called into action. But they were solid defensively, recording their second clean sheet in succession and third in their last four games.
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That success is largely down to the form of Cooper and Alex Pearce. The pair have built an impressive partnership at the heart of the Lions defence since the on-loan Derby County man broke into the starting XI at the beginning of last month, losing just twice in eight matches when they have started together.
But it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. They played together during their time at Reading in 2014/2015 and Pearce was even Cooper's centre-back partner when he made his professional debut for the Royals in a 1-0 victory at Scunthorpe United in the League Cup at the start of that season.
"He's a very good leader and has obviously played a lot of games at the highest level in this country, Cooper said. "I made my debut way back at Reading with Pearcy.
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"We know a lot about each other and certainly have been able to make it more solid in the last few weeks. It's given us a base. Keeping clean sheets is massive for us."
The 24-year-old was asked whether Millwall's battle for Championship survival could go down to the final day of the season when they travel to fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic.
Cooper replied: "The manager said if it takes until the 90th minute at Wigan then that's what it has to be. We'll battle every minute for the remaining part of the season.
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"When we get safe is down to how we perform and play in the coming weeks. We want to be safe as soon as possible but if it takes until then, then it takes until then."
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