MILLWALL boss Kenny Jackett was left reeling after a humiliating 5-1 home defeat to lowly Peterborough last night.

It is now five league defeats in a row for the Lions as they look increasingly in danger of being dragged into the relegation scrap at the wrong end of the Championship table.

Jackett was impressed with Peterborough’s pace on the counter attack, but admitted his team’s defending was extremely poor.

“In terms of defending, we didn’t have the awareness that Peterborough were capable of breaking right from the first minute,” he said.

“They were incisive and looked like they had goals in them right from the start.

“Their finishing was ruthless but our defensive awareness as a side was really poor tonight.

“When the ball broke to them, you could see the danger from the sidelines, but not enough of the players on the pitch could see that danger, Jimmy Abdou apart.

“We didn’t do enough when we had the ball, we had no cutting edge.

“Even at 2-1 down at half-time, I’m looking for a big second half to come back from behind to win the game.”

The Millwall boss was clearly unhappy at the break, withdrawing both Adam Smith and Benik Afobe at the start of the second half, a decision which failed to have much of an effect.

Smith has been impressive for the Lions this season but the Spurs loanee was run ragged by Posh winger George Boyd for 45 minutes.

Jackett has no concerns Smith will come back stronger from this disappointing display and added not many defenders could have handled Boyd last night.

“Boyd gave both of our right-backs a lot of trouble, the first two goals were created down his side,” he said.

“The goal at the end probably summed up his night in fairness because he was the best player on the pitch.

“It is Adam’s first and longest spell in the Championship.

“Boyd got the better of him first half and a couple of goals came via him.

“But overall Adam has done very well in the time he has been here.

“It is tough learning curve for him but it is up to him to learn from it and make sure the defensive side is your bread and butter.”

Jackett is hopeful he can make positive changes to his side for the tough trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday evening.

Danny Shittu’s absence has been evident and his no nonsense style would certainly have held the Lions in good stead last night.

And with Shane Lowry now missing for three games after being sent off against Posh, a defensive reshuffle could be a blessing in disguise for Millwall given their current form.

“Danny has had an ankle injury and also a bit of flu over the past few days,” Jackett said.

“He hasn’t been around but I hope he will be ok by the weekend, it very much depends on training Wednesday and Thursday.

“We will see about the left-back slot for the upcoming games.

“I’m not sure how I will play it yet as Middlesbrough have a lot of manoeuvrability, but we have to pick a side that can defend and we couldn’t do tonight.”

Follow @NewsShopperSprt on Twitter for updates from Millwall’s visit to Middlesbrough on Saturday, kick-off 5.20pm.