Paul Warne talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Early mornings, hill running and triple sessions have been the theme at previous overseas training camps in Austria under current boss Paul Warne and his staff, but the Millers chief has suggested this year’s switch in venue to Germany could prove even more tasking for his players.
The foundations of the club’s previous success in League One, which saw them complete a prolonged campaign eventually resulting in their promotion via the Play-off final were firmly laid following the rigorous fitness testing on the Austrian hills, and Warne is keen to build a similar resilience amongst his squad ahead of the new campaign.
However, despite the Millers’ fitness proving superior to many of their divisional rivals in the last couple of seasons, the boss is keen to up the ante once more this July.
“It will be a little bit tougher than the last couple of years possibly,” Warne told www.themillers.co.uk.
“We always try and notch it up a little bit. I don't want to be to 'samey' either, so I'll throw them a couple of curveballs which they probably won't expect.
“We've been to Austria for a couple of years now and some of my lads are still here, who have been on both of those trips, so it’s a change of scenery. That will be good for the staff as well as the players and we'll look forward to that.
“We'll do a few things differently this year.
“We'll try and freshen everything up because we always try and get better.”
Warne continued to admit that the time spent away from the club’s Roundwood training base will not just be used for fine-tuning fitness and increasing strength, but also to ensure that his players are once again well-versed in each other’s company ahead of another season.
The Millers’ chief has also hinted that he could look to utilise a change in formation next season depending on incoming personnel, with the early friendlies providing the coaching staff with the opportunity to work on a potential change in shape.
“You train a lot but you also have the lads together a lot. You can have a lot of meetings. If you play for me, being the footballer on the pitch on a Saturday is only a small part of it,” Warne explained.
“It's about getting the formations of play, the patterns of play and what we expect of the lads when they perform for us and that's what Germany gives us.
“Every time we're in the community, every time they're on Twitter and every time you speak to your friends, you represent all of us, so it gives us a good opportunity to really put the foundations and our principles in place with them.”
Warne concluded by expressing his admiration for the standard of opposition that the club have faced while overseas in previous years, and with one friendly in Germany confirmed, and news on another to follow, he is hopeful that this season's preparations are equally as testing.
"I think the games in previous seasons in Austria have been really tough for us," he added.
"They've been a couple of weeks in front of us. They're really technical and good ball players. I remember the second game in Austria against a side from something like Austrian league three and I could have virtually signed their whole team, they were unbelievable."