3/1 To Win
Gary Rowett is set to have the luxury of having a fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of Derby County’s festive games programme.
Derby will play four games inside 10 days in the Sky Bet Championship, starting with this afternoon’s Pride Park Stadium clash against Millwall (3pm kick-off).
The Rams will then head hit the road for trips to Hull City and Ipswich Town on Boxing Day and 30th December, before taking on Sheffield United on home turf on New Year’s Day.
Andreas Weimann picked up a knock in last weekend's 2-0 home win against
Aston Villa while fellow forward Tom Lawrence injured his ankle earlier
this month in the 3-0 victory at Barnsley, but both players are set to
be in line to face the Lions after returning to training.
With the games traditionally coming thick-and-fast at this time of year, Rowett insists it’s vital that every single member of his squad is ready to be called upon.
Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the Millwall game, he said: “We are, touch-wood, in a good place when it comes to having players available for selection.
“Everyone trained on Thursday and as long as there are no reactions from training on Friday, we will have a full squad to choose from when we play Tuesday.
“When you have a group of 26 players available it is a bit of a challenge but we’re coming into a busy period and we’ll need a lot of players. Everyone has to be ready.”
“There’s the cliché of it being a time of the year where the table takes shape; but the reality is it’s four games in a short space of time. Anyone involved in football will know that this is the toughest and most intense period.”
He added: “You almost class this run of games as a mini-period in your season and the recovery and strategy has to be spot on. You have to think about how you can utilise the squad and especially in the back-to-back games when it comes to freshness and dealing with knocks and niggles.
“It’s a period of matches that are very important and viewed in isolation almost when it comes to your preparation.”
Rowett has also stressed the importance of his squad retaining their focus during the festive period and says sacrificing being part of the festivities is part and parcel of being a professional footballer.
Derby’s squad will train as normal on Christmas Day ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Hull, with the 43-year-old stating it’s ‘business as usual’.
Rowett explained: “As a player I just think you get used to doing what you have to do at this time of year; working on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and over the Christmas period while everyone else is at home munching on a mince pie!
“It’s business as usual and the year almost gets flipped as a footballer. You accept that you have to work over the festive season, but also have more time off in the summer and also the international breaks as well.
“You have to be incredibly professional. It’s your job and as players they know it’s important to do the right things.”
