Millwall boss addresses the issue of goals shortage after Lions draw a Boxing Day blank against Ipswich

Post match views from Lions boss Alex Neil : Picture by @YTJourno

Millwall dropped out of the play-off places but will take heart from a battling draw against third-placed Ipswich at the Den which was a fine response to successive defeats which clipped their paws.

The one big issue it again threw up, however, is the modest goals return and the continuing imbalance in the goal difference.

The Lions have now netted just 25 times after the first half of the league programme has been completed (23 games) and the minus six goals column makes them one of only two teams in the top 13 who are not in credit when it comes to goal difference.

A major cause for concern? Boss Alex Neil is determined not to see it in a negative way.

"You could say it's a concern [the lack of goals] But Femi [Azeez] is our top scorer and he wasn't on the pitch today and I think Josh Coburn has been a big miss for us this season as well," Millwall's boss said after the match.

"I think judge us better and more fairly when they're all available, that's probably all I'd say.

"I think if you take into consideration the players we've had missing, then I think 36 points at the halfway mark is a really good return. Double that is 72 points, which usually gets you in the play-offs in the last two or three years.

"I always think there's improvement to be made. We've got a good, strong squad but a lot of the players are playing at this level for the first time, so this is a real tester for them in terms of showing they can do it on a regular basis."

Speaking about the 0-0 draw, Neil said: "I think [considering] the quality Ipswich have got and how stretched we are at the moment, having to take Billy [Mitchell] off after 70 minutes to protect him, I thought the lads did extremely well. I didn't think they deserved to lose the game by an stretch and I thought if anything, going to nick it was going to be us.

"I thought that we were good value. A clean sheet was important. The last few results haven't been great and we needed to make sure we didn't lose today. That's important for the confidence of the team."

Neil now has the weekend to plan for what promises to be a feisty return match against Bristol City on Monday after the recent match between the sides at Ashton Gate ended in bad blood and a mass melee.

Will it add an extra edge? "Not for me no. What it will do is add an edge for the fans, I know that," he said, adding: "We've now got four games coming up and we're going to have to freshen up the squad each time, so I don't think in any of the games coming up we're going to have the same team starting any of the games. I don't think that's possible."