Millwall boss: I’m not expecting any complaints about short summer break

Millwall resume pre-season training today – and manager Gary Rowett reckons none of his players will be complaining about their short break.

The Lions finished their Championship campaign on July 22 with a 4-1 victory over Huddersfield at The Den.

But the restructured dates due to the coronavirus pandemic mean that the 2020-21 season starts on September 12.

It means that Millwall’s squad have had a touch over three weeks summer shutdown.

The Lions are back in at their Calmont Road base today and Rowett says he has a clean bill of health. Mahlon Romeo had struggled with a groin problem before the season ended.

“They are all back fit,” said the Lions manager. “Mahlon has progressed quite well during the off period, short as it was.

“We’ve got to social distance in small groups for the first few sessions and after that we will be good to go.

“We’re looking forward to getting back in. It will be good to see them all.

“It’s such an odd scenario [with little time off] but I think all round we are very grateful to be able to at least play football – it’s our job to come back and prepare as best we can. I don’t think I’ll get any lads complaining and moaning that they’ve only had three weeks off.

“Everyone understands it has been a very abnormal season.

“We want to pick up where we left off in the last three or four games. It will be nice to get our fans back but we’ll have to prepare for a short period without them.

“Hopefully the imminent arrival of them, unless anything changes, should be enough to spur us on in the first few weeks.”

Millwall will have a UK training camp and have lined up three or four friendlies.

“The EFL Cup game has been brought forward a week so that will almost be like the last friendly-competitive game leading into the season,” said Rowett. “We’re pretty much organised and it isn’t dissimilar to how we’d normally have it – just a week or so shorter.”