Scott Malone is confident Millwall can beat Bournemouth at The Den on Saturday to preserve the club’s Championship status.

The Lions go into the Cherries encounter knowing victory will guarantee safety and full of belief after Malone’s stoppage time strike secured a 1-1 draw at QPR.

That vital goal extended Millwall’s unbeaten run to seven games and Malone sees no reason why his former side Bournemouth can’t be overcome.

He said: “We’ve just got to win.

“If we win then we are safe so it is in our hands.

“We haven’t lost now in seven, we’ve got a fair few points from the last seven games so if you draw away and win at home then you stay up I think.

“I don’t think we can go into the game anxious, we’ve just got to play like we did at QPR.

“We took a point away so we’ve just got to get one more goal than Bournemouth and then we are safe. That’s what we are going to do.”

Malone didn’t make the cleanest of contacts with his dramatic late shot at Loftus Road, something he was the first to admit afterwards.

“If I catch it right he saves it. I think I’ve bamboozled him a little bit by what I’ve done with it.

“I think I’ve come underneath it but I didn’t see it go in.

“I’ve put my head up in the air thinking I’ve done it again and it has crept in but they all count.”

When asked if it was the most important goal the 23-year-old had scored in his career, Malone replied: “It could turn out to be.

“I wouldn’t like to say it at the minute if things don’t go well next Saturday but if we win we will be safe.”

Twelve months ago Millwall managed to survive on the final day of the campaign despite losing 1-0 at Derby in Kenny Jackett’s last game in charge due to Peterborough losing 3-2 at the Lions’ rivals Crystal Palace.

And although he didn’t play that day against the Rams, Malone is all too aware of the similarities.

He explained: “It’s deja-vu, it happened last year at Derby.

“I wasn’t there, I was watching it on telly and I think I was more nervous than the people that were there. It was literally out of our hands

“That is not nice.

“I was down in Bournemouth watching it on the telly along with James Henry and we sat there looking at each other sweating. It is going to be nice being able to something about it next Saturday, I think that is the main thing.”

And although a former Cherrie, Malone would love to put one over his side, particularly after Millwall threw away a two-goal lead on the south coast earlier this season to slump to a 5-2 defeat.

He added: “Beating Bournemouth would be lovely to be fair after what they did to us at Dean Court.

“Dunney got sent off in that game when I think it was 2-2 at the time and then it went Pete Tong but we are playing great football now, I think you saw that in the first half and if we can do it again at home next Saturday I don’t think we’ve got any worries.”

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