TONY Mowbray says no-one could be ‘anything but impressed’ with the way Millwall have taken to Championship life.

The Lions finished eighth last term, two points outside the play-offs, in their first season back in the second tier.

Tomorrow’s meeting is between two sides who will be disappointed not to have taken all three points from their respective 2-2 draws on the opening day.

But on Rovers’ first home outing of the season, Mowbray said: “It’s one we should embrace and look forward to, we’re in the Championship and we will look to go out there and play on the front foot against every team and see where it takes us.”

And on Neil Harris’ side, he added: “You can’t be anything but impressed.

“They have their way of playing, they stick to their roots and it paid dividends for them last year.

“You might say that a more direct style might not feature the higher the level you go up but it’s worked extremely well.

“Having watched their game against Middlesbrough at the weekend they were very unfortunate not to take all the points against one of the promotion favourites.

“What we know is that it will be a tough game, we will need to defend well and be concentrated on their set plays and ready and robust to play against them and find some quality to break down a very resolute defence.”

All three sides promoted from League One in 2016/17 achieved safety in the Championship last year, with both Millwall and Sheffield United having spells in the top six.

Millwall relied strongly on their home form, collecting 43 of their 72 points at The Den.

But they did record seven victories on their travels, and Mowbray says Rovers will need to show quality in the final third to break down a Millwall defence who conceded the third fewest away goals in the league last season.

When asked if Millwall provided a blueprint for Rovers to follow, Mowbray said: “Sheffield United showed that as well and did it in a slightly different way.

“We all have home games and all have away games but Millwall’s home games are an advantage because of the atmosphere that stadium can create. It’s almost unique, it doesn’t have to be overflowing at the rafters, it can be half full but the noise and the drive the noise from those on the terraces give to their team is almost unique.

“I’d suggest that Millwall get a vast amount of their points at home, but they know how to make things really difficult on the road and how to frustrate.

“We know it will be a tough game but one that we must target to be positive, play on the front foot and get the three points.”