Music man Mahlon Romeo hoping to hit the right notes as Millwall eye another FA Cup scalp against Brighton

Here’s a question: if you could attach a genre of music to Millwall Football Club, what would it be? Mahlon Romeo ponders it for a moment, frowning slightly. “What’s your idea?” he asks back. Something heavy, maybe? Romeo has another think, then nods. “I could agree with that,” he says. “I could agree with heavy. Heavy, but with some nice melodies.”

The question is not as random as it might seem. Of all the footballers to ask, Romeo is arguably the best qualified to provide an answer. The Millwall defender has lived a life surrounded by sound, and has music in his blood. It could even have made for an alternative career, had football not worked out, with Romeo saying there have been times when he was tempted to join those of his friends who are part of the music industry.

“A lot of my life away from football is music,” he says. “It’s definitely a big thing for me.” In truth, it would have been impossible for Romeo to keep music out of his life, given his heritage. His father is Trevor Romeo, who is better known as Jazzie B, the founding member of British group Soul II Soul and one of the most influential urban music figures in the UK’s musical history.

Trevor forged a career of great success in one field, and now Mahlon is beginning to do the same in another. The 23-year-old is commendably eager to be judged on his own achievements, rather than the accomplishments of his family, and Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton provides another opportunity for him to showcase his talent to a wider audience.

Millwall’s battles in the Championship remain important, of course, with relegation a real possibility, but for now their attention can be diverted towards a far more glamorous afternoon. “It will be refreshing for us to test ourselves against better opposition,” Romeo says. “Obviously this is a different ball-game. It’s a different atmosphere and there is less pressure, which will be a good thing.”

It is no coincidence that the word “atmosphere” comes up early in the conversation. If there is one thing Brighton can be sure of as they arrive in south London, it is that the Den will be at its most hostile. It will be loud, it will be aggressive, it will be intimidating. Heavy metal, of sorts.

Better teams than Brighton have found it too much to handle in recent seasons, and there is a reason that Neil Harris, the Millwall manager, was desperate to be drawn at home in the last eight. Bournemouth, Watford, Leicester City and Everton have all been mauled at the Den in the last two years, unable to cope with the ferocity and intensity of a pumped-up Millwall.

“It’s amazing,” says Romeo. “I am just glad I play for Millwall and not the away team. I love it, and it’s a rarity in the league. When we get going and we get a bit of momentum, and the crowd get behind us, it just makes it so difficult [for the opponents]. It is literally like having another player. It gives you that little extra percentage to run that bit more.”

Ryan Leonard, Romeo’s team-mate, has been on the receiving end of the Millwall atmosphere. Speaking in the week, he said it can be so debilitating for the away team that “you can’t actually hear yourself think”.

This is what Brighton are in for, as well as a style of football which is in keeping with the feel of the ground. “The Millwall way, if you will,” says Romeo. “The gaffer reminds us of that in training and before matches. Tough tackling, running until the very end, not giving up.

“The style of football we play, it works to our advantage against certain teams. The way we press, the way we do things in general. There are some teams that might play higher up who might not be used to that in their league. We take them by surprise.”

It is a tried and tested method of causing FA Cup chaos. Millwall have won 31 games in the competition since 2004, which is the fifth best record in the country. And this season marks the 11th time they have reached the last eight while being outside of the top division, a record bettered only by Southampton.

“A lot of the time teams might hear about the way we play, or hear about the way things are at the Den,” says Romeo. “But maybe they won’t appreciate to what extent we actually back it up.”

These matches are formative experiences for Romeo, who is still learning his craft but can feel himself maturing as a player. On Arsenal’s books as a teenager, when he played in the same youth team as Alex Iwobi, he then endured a difficult spell with Gillingham before a move to Millwall in 2015 proved to be the proper start of his professional career.

More than 100 appearances under Harris have followed, as have 12 international caps for Antigua and Barbuda. There has been speculation of a move to the Premier League, too, and these cup matches against elite attackers are clearly important steps in his development.

“There are times when we have played Premier League teams, even at the Den, and certain individuals might stand out,” he says. “You can tell they are at a higher level, like Richarlison at Everton. I went to press him in the first half and I thought I would be able to put the brakes on in time. But by the time I had even thought about putting the brakes on, he had flicked the ball over my head. He was gone, out of there.”

Romeo has both the character and the backing to stop those moments causing any sense of inferiority against more garlanded opposition, though. After all, there will be no deference shown to Brighton from Millwall or from Romeo, a team and a individual who take great pride in marching to the beat of their own drum.