WHILE Millwall’s players head into their deserved summer break next Monday there will be no rest for Gary Rowett – and the Lions boss might even be spotted around some pool trying to do deals.
That could be more a metaphorical description this time with doubts still over whether there will be foreign holidays in the sun, but Rowett jokes his wife recalls summers by the names of top transfer targets.
The summer of 2017 at Derby was Tom Lawrence, the following year at Stoke was the summer of £10million Tom Ince, or Sam Clucas, or perhaps even Ryan Woods.
There was a rare summer off between jobs in 2019 before last summer, which Rowett’s wife will probably know as the Troy Parrott one.
After this Saturday’s game at Coventry, Rowett will stay in his native Midlands and with the football out of the way fully focus on transfer plans with head of recruitment Harvey Bussell.
“What you tend to do as a manager and most managers will do the same, you try to organise what you need to do for next season. So pre-season schedule, pre-season games, a tour if there is any,” Rowett explained.
“And also some of the adjustments that you need to make around the training ground before next season.
“Then it’s on to recruitment. Most of it is done away from the training ground. I’m a big believer that when you only get limited time off every year to spend a bit of time with your family, it’s pointless coming into the office every day when there’s not anyone in.
“What we tend to do is work remotely. I’ll speak to Harvey every day, the staff every day.
“I’m sure we’ll be walking around some holiday destination – whether that’s the UK or abroad, we’ll find out – speaking on the phone to agents trying to get deals done.
“We know what we want, we know what we need and we have good targets. As usual then it’s a game to see how quickly we can get them over the line and if we can get them over the line.
“That’s the unknown as you head into every summer.
“You tend to have periods when it’s not as busy in the summer. So often when the season finishes you usually get a week or two when it’s quite busy, people like to think they can get stuff done.
“But then you tend to have a couple of weeks when not much happens and everyone seems to be doing other things.
“Every summer for the last ten years I can tell you different holidays and differint pools I’ve walked around talking about signing certain players.
“My wife names each holiday by the player I’m most trying to sign, because that’s what I probably spend most time doing, unfortunately.
“You try to have a break and refresh, but the reality is next season is essentially going to be defined by who we sign over the next six to ten weeks. So it’s important.”
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