Gaffer well underway with summer plans
Burton Albion manager Gary Rowett admits he’s been pleased with the club’s early summer activity as he prepares for the 2014/15 season.
Rowett has brought in Shane Cansdell-Sherriff on a permanent deal, as well as adding George Taft and John Mousinho to the ranks in the three weeks since the season finished.
Rowett says he’s happy with who he’s recruited so far, believing they bring different attributes to the squad.
“We’re really pleased so far. We’ve had a list of player we’ve wanted to bring in and we’ve spoken about how we can push things forward next season.
“The players that we’ve brought in are good players and a mix of experience and potential. Shane was an obvious one to bring in and it was a no-brainer if we could do a deal. He was happy to come which tells you how much he’s enjoyed it here.
“George is at the other end of the spectrum. He plays in a similar position to Shane and he’s got good quality. He’s a player of immense potential and we’ll see if we can realise that potential.
“John Mousinho was our number one target in that position and if Robbie re-signs it will give us four excellent players in that position with Lee Bell and Matty Palmer. John is the type of player that we want to bring in. We needed a bit more height in the team and he’ll give us that,” he said.
Having signed three players already this summer, Rowett says there is still a lot of planning to be done over the close season.
“It’s more important for the family as you can actually have a holiday, but it doesn’t stop. I spend most of the day on the phone to agents and talking about targets.
“People think you go on holiday for four weeks and just reappear when pre-season starts but that’s not the case.
“For me, you get to spend some time away from the club and some time with your family but there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of planning for the new season,” said Rowett.
With the pre-season schedule taking shape, Rowett says he’s happy with the balance of fixtures that have been arranged to prepare for next season.
“We’re pleased with the confirmed pre-season games. It’s a fine balance because you want some good teams to come for the revenue and for the spectacle, but you’re also trying to prepare the team.
“A couple of seasons ago we had a tough time against the likes of Leicester, Leeds and Aston Villa and we ended up chasing the ball for 90 minutes. There’s a balance to this season’s schedule which is what we wanted.
“We’ll also try to take the players away like we did last season. We went to Spain for four days and it went really well so hopefully the Chairman will allow us to do the same this season.
“We need to hit the ground running next season if we want to maintain what we’ve achieved over the last two years.”
The fixtures for the 2014/15 season will be released on Wednesday 18th June at 9am via the official website.