ROWETT UP FOR THE FIGHT
Lions boss is a big UFC fan who takes a leaf out of their book for MFC training
THE Ultimate Fighting Championship is as good a description as there is for the scrap to gain promotion to the top flight this season.
Millwall boss Gary Rowett, who last month passed three years in charge, knows all about the rigours of battling for a play-off place, but also the dedication needed to reach the UFC, mixed martial arts’ premier organisation. The former Derby, Birmingham and Stoke manager has been avidly watching all the octagon action since the early 2000s. And while Rowett, 48, has left it too late to swap MFC for UFC, he has picked up tips from elite MMA coaches that he hopes will keep the Lions in the fight for the Premier League.
“If I was younger, I’d have liked to have done some MMA training,” he said the ex- defender. “But as a player you can’t really risk it. Then you get to about 35 and you think, ‘I’m too old now, I’ll just get beaten up’.
“But as a coach I look at John Danaher or Firas Zahabi (right), some of the coaches, and it is quite interesting to see some similarities in how they talk and how they work.
“For example, John Danaher talks about training every day, not having any days off during his camps, even if they just have a lighter day where they practise technique.
“In the football world, where you tend to get two days off a week, it is certainly something that makes you think.
“And Firas Zahabi talks about flow, about maintaining a level of flow in training. I try to take one or two bits from it.
“Of course, it is very different in football as it’s like having a fight twice a week. So you have to train differently but you take bits from MMA trainers, all sports, and see if there are any parallels with what you’re trying to achieve.”
Millwall go to Preston today looking to push back towards the play-off places after goalless draws in their last two matches.
Rowett, on one of the smaller budgets in the Championship, has made steady progress during his time in South London and is looking for the Lions to punch above their weight and land a shot at the Premier League.
He added: “We understand as a club what we are and what we’ve done over the last three years. We’ve been very close to the top six in all three seasons, which shows a good level of consistency.
“We want to push on before the World Cup break and then take stock and reflect.”