THE Den, new or old, has never been a happy hunting ground for Wanderers – but the only Bolton player to ever score a winning league goal at the home of the Lions believes all that is about to change.

John McGinlay has a tale or two about his 12 months at Millwall, his last stopping point before a glorious five-year stint with the Whites.

He was not the only member of Bruce Rioch’s squad with connections to the London club when they took three points from the Den for the one and only time back in 1995 en route to the Premier League.

Wanderers have failed to win on 15 other occasions at the ground, although Owen Coyle’s side did sample victory in the FA Cup in 2012.

But McGinlay sees no reason why Neil Lennon’s side should let history play on their minds tomorrow night in a game he believes they are well-equipped to win.

“I think sometimes teams go there and they are always looking over their shoulder,” he told The Bolton News. “But there are enough experienced heads in the dressing room at Bolton to cope nowadays.

“It’s a very unique club, Millwall, even though it has mellowed a bit since I played there.

“If you do well, their fans will be loyal to you, and in that respect I don’t think it is any different to us.

“There is no reason why Neil’s players would feel intimidated going down there because they’ve seen it before, probably worse, and they are playing well at the moment. Let’s make them worry about what we’re doing.”

Last season Dougie Freedman’s side were dubbed “boring” by Lions boss Ian Holloway as the teams drew one apiece – although Lukas Jutkiewicz missed a golden chance to join McGinlay in the record books, by missing a penalty.

A year earlier, defeat at Millwall proved the last act for Coyle in charge of Wanderers, with Chris Eagles missing a crucial spot kick that day too.

“Looking back at those games, I think both players could have handled the pressure better,” he said. “But this is a very different team.

“The shackles have come off now. We’re seeing what these players are really about.

“Over the last 18 to 24 months we hadn’t really seen the lads able to express themselves, or seen the team play on the front foot. That has changed.

“What Neil has done with this group of players, got them going again, is incredible and I think he deserves a lot of credit for it.”

McGinlay hopes to see Lennon able to bring in some new recruits in January after a string of injuries have reduced his squad to the bare bones.

“It has been a blow losing the likes of Max Clayton, Joe Mason and Mark Davies – plus you’ll have Chung-Yong Lee away at the Asia Cup in January,” he said.

“He has worked with what he had and done an excellent job but he does need to be able to put his own mark on things.

“I think the injuries we have picked up in the last few weeks will probably dictate what he brings in next month.

“We just need to see what he has got to play with money-wise.”

McGinlay played 38 times for Millwall between January 1991 and September 1992, scoring 11 goals.

And he can speak with personal experience that the home crowd can also work against their side on occasion.

“It works both ways,” he said. “Yes, the home crowd can be tough to handle if you are an away team but if you get on top, they’ll also let their own players know they are not happy.

“I think Ian Holloway knows the aim is to survive there, first and foremost, and he did that last season and has had little money to strengthen.

“With respect to Millwall, I think it’s a game we can go and win.”