Why West Ham will laugh off Alex Neil confession as Millwall excuses already start

Alex Neil and Millwall might just be running scared of West Ham United.

Apparently, there's a rather important game of football happening in South East London this Saturday...

The small matter of the first Docker's Derby since 2012 is on the agenda, as Millwall welcome West Ham to The Den.

Needless to say, this fixture is one of, if not the most, hotly anticipated fixtures in the entire 2026-27 Championship season.

The Hammers enter it off the back of a 3-2 Carabao Cup loss to Fulham, but having won four league games on the spin.

Millwall, on the other hand, seem to be getting there excuses in order ahead of this weekend's game.

How has Alex Neil subtly tempered Millwall expectations vs West Ham?

It's not uncommon to see managers employ some psychological warfare in the build-up to a big match.

And, in a game with the magnitude of West Ham and Millwall, getting in the oppositions' heads can elicit big rewards.

This could be what Neil is trying to do to Nuno Espirito Santo in the days prior to the Docker's Derby.

Speaking via Goal following the Lions' 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, Neil has made a seemingly alarming confession from a Millwall perspective.

"I can’t fault the effort. We’ve done four back-to-back Tuesdays now in a row.

"We’ve got West Ham at the weekend, and we’ve got a lot of lads running on empty just now."

Of course, this could just be a ruse by Neil to try and get his players to prove to him they're not tired when West Ham come to town.

But why will Nuno and his squad find this claim particularly hilarious, and of course, meet it with zero sympathy?

Millwall aren't the only ones dealing with fatigue

It's true, Millwall are suffering from a number of injuries to important players at this moment in time.

And it's also true to say this has impacted Neil's ability to rotate his squad, and recoup fitness levels in certain players' legs.

However, since 1 September, both West Ham and Millwall have played an equal number of games in all competitions: five.

Even so, Saturday's game will only be the eighth league match of the season, and we're still only in mid-September.

If either of Millwall or West Ham's players can't get themselves fully up for a Docker's derby energy-wise, then that's an abdication of duty.

Neil can play the pity card all he likes, but if he thinks Nuno and West Ham are going to buy it and thus fall into his trap, then he'll be sorely mistaken.