West Ham stars told how to use volatile Millwall atmosphere to their advantage ahead of first derby in 14 years

MATT JARVIS has urged West Ham players to embrace the fierce atmosphere at The Den on Saturday when they face rivals Millwall.

The pair have not met in 14 years, with their last clash coming in 2012 during the Hammers’ last spell in the .

But they will finally reunite in South East London this weekend for what will be

Former Hammers star Jarvis did not take to the field against the Lions while wearing Claret and Blue, but he is no stranger to The Den and the intimidating atmosphere it can produce.

And he reckons that the gravity of the clash will not be lost on the Hammers’ current crop of stars, as they search for a first away win against Millwall since 1988.

Jarvis told SunSport, on behalf of ElevenLabs : “You’re going to be looking away at Saturday, and every player will come out in the press and say, ‘It’s just another game. We’re just going to continue as we have done.’

“But you will be told by the fans that this game is so important. It doesn’t matter about the one on Tuesday and about the one the following week. This game is massively important.

“Recent results suggest that are in great form and it’s just going to be another game, they’re going to go out and play their thing.

“But once you go and play at The Den, that atmosphere – you’ll feel it from the crowd. You’ll feel it from the team talk before the game about how much this game means to everyone.”

The momentous occasion certainly won’t be lost on the home crowd in New Cross, who will be making sure the feisty fixture lives up to its reputation.

Jarvis has featured in front of the same crowd himself while with Gillingham, and suggested that West Ham’s stars should embrace the hostilities and try to channel them into their own performance.

He said of the home crowd aggro: “Sometimes, depending on the situation in the game, you can use it to your advantage.

“I was a winger, so you hear absolutely everything because you’re literally next to the fans for the majority of the game. I took the corners, so they’re literally on you. They can touch you, you can hear everything.

“You try and use everything as a positive. If I’m getting hammered by the away fans, then I know that I’m doing something well.

“So you actually rile them up a little bit, but you know that you’re obviously performing.”

The trick, according to former Wolves and star, is striking the balance between allowing the energy to fuel you while not getting caught up in the spectacle.

He continued: “You are trying to zone in on what your roles and responsibilities are in that game. If you switch off for one moment and they score, you know that you’re going to be in serious trouble from either your team-mates or the manager or the fans.

“So it is really great to soak up all of the atmosphere, everything before the game. You have a good look around when you walk out. You feed off it.

“Then once that game starts, you’ve got to be able to zone into: ‘Right, what do I have to do here? Who am I picking up from a corner? He will not score from that corner.’

“That’s the hardest and the best part about the game.”

The fixture has seen its fair share of bone-headed decisions over the years, with the last Dockers Derby seeing Jarvis’ former team-mate Kevin Nolan sent off within the opening ten minutes.

The Hammers went on to win that one thanks to a thumping strike from Winston Reid, but Jarvis – who spent seven years on Millwall’s books as a youngster before being released at 16 – is hoping it won’t come to that this time around.

He explained: “You’re hoping that this squad that’s just started to find a bit of form will have that mentality to not go into stupid challenges to start with. They’re not going to get a petulant yellow card or a sending off that’s just going to have a big impact on the game.

“So you’re hoping that they can be in a position where they can go and play their game the way that they have been, but knowing the surroundings, the supporters, the atmosphere, everything that goes into this game.

“It hasn’t happened for such a long time as well, so there’s going to be bragging rights for all of the fanbases. The players will fully, fully know this, and they’ll be playing it down, but it will have been drilled into them, the importance of this result.”

If all of that falls into place, Jarvis sees West Ham walking out as the victors – though he would not be surprised to see the match end up a bit more scrappy than your average Championship showdown.

Fixtures Results Table

Friday 18 September

Bristol C

20:00

CHA

Watford

Saturday 19 September

Cardiff

12:30

CHA

Charlton

Millwall

12:30

CHA

West Ham

Stoke

12:30

CHA

Sheff Utd

Birmingham

15:00

CHA

Middlesbrough

Burnley

15:00

CHA

Derby

Tuesday 15 September

Bristol C

0 – 1

CHA

Lincoln

Middlesbrough

2 – 2

CHA

Millwall

Sunday 13 September

Sheff Utd

0 – 1

CHA

Wolves

Saturday 12 September

Watford

1 – 2

CHA

Stoke

Swansea

3 – 1

CHA

Burnley

English Football League – Championship Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

7

14

11

4

2

1

2

7

14

6

4

2

1

3

7

14

4

4

2

1

4

7

14

3

4

2

1

5

7

12

3

3

3

1

6

7

12

-1

3

3

1

7

6

11

4

3

2

1

8

Lincoln

7

11

0

3

2

2

The former winger tipped the favourites to live up to their billing, especially with Millwall’s injuries and the fact that, per Transfermarkt, the Hammers’ squad is worth more than triple that of their rivals.

Jarvis added: “I would say, looking at Millwall this season, they’re still going to be up in and around it like they have been the last few years. They’ve just had a couple of difficult results.

“So I would say it is going to be a frantic, frantic game. I can see both teams scoring, and I will go for a 3-1 away win.

“The new (West Ham) players that have come in have settled really well. They’ve either scored, they’ve got man of the match, they’ve got an assist, so their confidence is high. The team’s confidence is high.

“They’ve gone down to Bolton, they’ve gone goals behind, they’ve come back and won. This breeds so much confidence within the team.

“I feel like that’s where West Ham are building at the moment. That ability to not panic, to go, ‘We have got a great squad, we’ve got great players. Whatever happens in this game, whoever’s playing, we’ve got a real chance of coming back or winning the game.’

“So I would be optimistic that, at the moment, from what we’ve seen, they are in that mindset.”