Millwall have held underrated Championship weapon for 7 seasons now: View | OneFootball

Despite a disappointing season, Millwall are finishing on a high and their recent 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle was their fourth win in a row.

The Lions have struggled for large parts of the season, but Neil Harris has steadied the ship at The Den, and has gone back to basics, which has subsequently brought results.

Central defender Jake Cooper has been at his best in recent weeks, and the Lions' skipper has been back amongst the goals.

He scored his first of the season in Millwall's 3-1 win over Cardiff City in mid-April, and he backed it up with the winner against Plymouth to take his tally to two goals in three.

Despite being a defender, Cooper has always been a goalscoring threat for Millwall, and his recent goals against Cardiff and Plymouth has ensured he's continued his proud record of scoring in every season since joining the Lions in 2017.

Jake Cooper has been an underrated weapon in front of goal

As a central defender, Cooper's main job is to stop the opposition from scoring goals, but he's proved to be a semi-regular feature on the scoresheet for the Lions.

The Bracknell-born defender joined the club from Reading in 2017, and he's become a bit of a cult-hero at The Den.

His recent goal against Plymouth took his tally of Millwall goals to 24 in total, which certainly isn't bad for a defender. He's also registered 17 assists, which means he has 41 goal contributions for the club, a ridiculously high number for a central defender.

His 24 goals and 17 assists have come in 345 appearances, so he's not exactly prolific, but the Millwall faithful have become accustomed to seeing Cooper pop up with a couple of crucial goals every season, and as a central defender, every goal is a bonus as that's not his primary role.

Cooper is always a threat at set pieces because of his height and aerial ability. The 29-year-old is 1.99m (6"5), which means that he's quite often able to get the better of his opposite number at set pieces and get his head to the ball.

This is something that Harris has utilised well recently, and whilst not being the most glamorous way of scoring, crossing balls for Cooper is a very effective way to find the back of the net.

He had no right to score from where he did against Plymouth, and most elite strikers would have been pleased with a finish of that quality as his looped header beat Pilgrims' goalkeeper Michael Cooper.

Whilst not his primary job, Millwall fans will be hoping that Cooper's scoring form will continue for years to come.

Jake Cooper has been a fantastic Millwall signing

After initially joining on loan from Reading in January 2017, Cooper helped the club win promotion from League One that season before joining the club on a permanent basis that summer.

Cooper's been a fantastic signing for a number of reasons, namely because he's never injured, and he's available for nearly every game. With games coming thick and fast in the Championship, you need players you can rely on to be available, and the central defender is certainly one of them.

This is Cooper's seventh full season at The Den, and he's never played less than 42 games in a season, showing how reliable he is.

He's also a great leader, and he's shown that this season as he's worn the captain's armband on a regular basis, leading the club to Championship safety.

All of this, combined with his ability to come up with a goal when the club need it the most, means that he's a modern-day Millwall legend, and after signing a new deal at the club last summer, The Den will be seeing a lot more of Cooper in the years to come.