Millwall v Everton: Lions’ CEO Steve Kavanagh responds to suggestions the club should change its name to fix bad reputation

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Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh has shut down suggestions the Lions should be re-branded in an attempt to stop the negative connotations connected with the club.

Kavanagh joined talkSPORT on Monday to respond to the ugly incidents of violence and racism which marred Millwall’s stunning FA Cup victory over Everton on Saturday.

An Everton fan was slashed across the face with a knife during a mass brawl away from the stadium before kick-off, while a small group of Lions supporters also allegedly directed racially abusive chanting towards the visiting supporters during the game.

The shocking scenes have been condemned by Millwall, who say the fans involved ‘are not welcome’ at the club and anyone found guilty will be banned for life.

But talkSPORT producer, lifelong Millwall fan and host of Lions podcast ‘No One Likes Us Talkin’, Joe Amphlett, believes the club should take a more radical approach to fix the club’s reputation…

But Kavanagh insists that is not a road Millwall will be going down.

“They won’t be doing that,” he told talkSPORT host Jim White.

“It’s just not a proportionate response to what has happened here. We need a bit of proportionality about what has gone on here.

“We need to continue to work and redouble our efforts to stop it from happening. We’re already working on a new CCTV system.

“Yes, some people ran onto the pitch, but two years ago we scored an injury time winner against Leicester and hundreds of people ran onto the pitch.

“On Saturday there was only a few people on the pitch – why? Because we have put different measures in place, we have changed and we have learned.

“Let’s make this clear, anyone who had done this is not welcome at the club – we don’t want them here, and the fans are coming out now saying they don’t want this in their ground.

“The vast majority of the fans are fantastic people, they’re proud of their club and they create an unbelievable atmosphere. They don’t want to cross that line, but there are a few uneducated people who don’t understand.

“And let’s actually separate ‘the club’ and ‘these people’. The club don’t want this. We are disgusted by this, we’re upset about this and we’re not happy.

“The people and good honest fans weren’t doing this, this is a small pocket of people. Let’s remember the other fans. They deserve credit.”

“This is a very, very small minority, the majority of fans were absolutely fantastic on Saturday and created an atmosphere and helped create a result the FA should be proud of for the competition, and yet we’re giving these idiots the oxygen after what they did, and that’s just crazy.”

Listen to talkSPORT’s interview with Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh IN FULL