Play-offs are no place for perspective. Seeing a season's worth of toil snuffed out in an instant can be crushing: summers are spoiled, careers checked and ambitions thwarted. The hangover can last for months.

Dodging that grim scenario should prove the ultimate motivation for Millwall as they prepare for the semi-final with Leeds tonight and yet, if anyone can treat events at Elland Road with equanimity, the Lions striker Gary Alexander might just be the man.

Alexander knows only too well the true meaning of tragedy. In August, he was preparing for the birth of his third child when his wife, Danielle, suffered complications to the pregnancy. Then doctors delivered the news the couple were dreading: their son, Albert, would be stillborn.

"It hits you incredibly hard and those around you as well," Alexander said. "There's not a time I don't think about Albert, even though he wasn't in the world long. We'll never forget him."

Football was Alexander's release. Twenty-four hours after being told that his son had lost his fight for life, he drove into Millwall's Ravensbourne training complex to take part in a practice session. His team-mates and the club's management were shocked but Alexander had his reasons.

"The manager said I should take as much time as I needed to recover but I needed something to take my mind off things and playing football was a good outlet for me," he said.

"It helped me get through the whole experience - being around other people, working hard, even listening to the other lads throwing banter around the training ground.

"It's strange because you know you shouldn't be cheerful at a time like that and obviously I was incredibly upset but being among the rest of the boys did lift my spirits."

Alexander missed just two matches to console Danielle and his two other sons, George and Danny, before marking his return against Hartlepool with a goal in a 2-0 victory at The Den.

"That one was for Albert and for Danielle," he said. "Every goal I score now I think of the little boy we lost - it's my way of remembering him."

Millwall's transformation from strugglers to genuine contenders has provided a welcome ray of sunshine in a dark nine months for Alexander and the club now stand on the cusp of a remarkable achievement. Neil Harris's goal in last week's first leg, which handed the south Londoners a precious, if slender, advantage, has given tonight's match a distinctly brighter hue. Leeds might have the tradition, the status and the fan base but Millwall have the momentum.

It could be just enough to get them to Wembley for the League One Play-off Final on 24 May, where they will face either MK Dons or Scunthorpe. They go into their play-off semi-final, second leg tomorrow level at 1-1.

For Alexander - born in Lambeth and a lifelong Millwall fan who sat among the supporters for the club's last play-off attempt against Birmingham in 2002 - the excitement is palpable.

"I always have a big contingent of friends and family turn out to watch me - I had to get on the phone to try to get as many tickets for Leeds as I could and, if we get to Wembley, the thing will be ringing off the hook.

"As players, it's the thought of what's at the end of it which helps you focus - the possible trip to Wembley, with 50,000 Millwall fans packed into the stadium and playing in the Championship."

After the traumas he has endured this season, no one would begrudge Alexander a fairytale ending. Even so, regardless of whether Millwall's hopes are ended by Leeds tonight, there is still reason for celebration in the Alexander household - he and Danielle are expecting a baby girl in September.

"It's great news for us all and hopefully it will be an exciting summer," he said. "A new baby, possible promotion . . . life is good at the moment."

Meanwhile, skipper Paul Robinson is available following a broken metatarsal but is likely to settle for a place on the bench again. Marcus Bignot and Danny Senda are still out and Ashley Grimes serves the second game of a three-match ban. James Henry, on loan from Reading, will make his last appearance for the Lions.

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