IAN Holloway reckons the Millwall philosophy of 'no one likes us, we don’t care' suits him down to the ground.

The new Lions boss arrived at The Den with something to prove following his resignation from rivals Crystal Palace earlier this season.

Holloway is delighted to be back in south London and made a winning Den debut thanks to Saturday’s vital 1-0 victory over Ipswich.

And despite only being in charge for more than a week, the manager already feels he has found his spiritual home.

He said: “I loved the crowd, they were brilliant. I love everything about this place.

“I feel like I’m home, maybe because I’ve been around Beckenham for the last year. “When you move house as many times as me and my wife do, it can be very disorientating.

“You don’t know where things or houses are, but this feels fantastic.”

Holloway added: “I actually feel like I’m with people that understand me a little bit, and what I mean is that life isn’t easy and you have to work hard.

“I’m not so sure how many people like me, but I don’t really care - that rings so true around here.”

Holloway hopes this week’s training camp in Portgual will enhance the core fitness levels of his squad after the Lions flew out to the Algarve on Sunday afternoon.

And following Saturday’s win over Ipswich, where three Lions defenders suffered cramp towards the end, Holloway is optimistic the club will reap the rewards on the pitch if they can be successful on the training field.

He explained: “I’m going to control what they eat, control the weather, almost, because I guarantee we’ll be out three times a day.

“I’ll control the standard of the pitch, because I have been there before (with Blackpool).

“Then I’ll give them some more tactics because I can make it a bit easier than kicking it long and winning a knock down.

“I want to try and play a bit more expansive. I can show them off a back of a win, which is always nice, how we can improve.”

Holloway added: “If you look at the two times we threw the ball out on Saturday, both times the player it went to didn’t have any support quick enough.

“That put them under pressure, whereas normally they’ll have loads of people around them.

“The goalkeeper will throw it and then there will be a few little passes, and then we’ll try and hit a switch. We’ll get there.”

Loan debutant Ryan Fredericks hit the winner against the Tractor Boys, but Danny Shittu was singled out for praise by the gaffer after a faultless performance from the centre back.

Holloway said: “That’s how I remember Danny Shittu. I got him believing in himself when he was a few years younger (at QPR]) when he didn’t have a knee like he does at the moment.

“I thought the fella next to him was absolutely immense, because they must be sick of letting goals in.

“Where they were, the midfield were in the same area, and they were all pressing and they looked like they were together.

“Let’s hope that that continues.”

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