Gary Rowett says Derby County’s friendly clash with Hoffenheim at Pride Park Stadium this afternoon is the ‘final piece’ of his side’s pre-season jigsaw.
Derby will round off their games programme ahead of the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season by taking on the Bundesliga outfit (kick-off: 3pm).
Hoffenheim finished fourth in the German top flight last season and, as a result, reached the qualifying stages of this season’s UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.
Rowett admits the game is a different type of test for his players as they will be facing a level of quality that they are unlikely to be up against on a regular basis in the league campaign.
Nonetheless, he feel it’s a challenge to look forward to with the new season just a week away from kicking off.
He told RamsTV: “It only seems like five minutes ago since we played the first pre-season game.
“It has been a good pre-season so far and Hoffenheim is one of the last little pieces of that.
“We still have a week to go until the season starts and our minds are firmly focused on the Sunderland game.
“With that in mind we’re trying to get the last little pieces of preparation in place against Hoffenheim.
“This is the final piece of the jigsaw in terms of the pre-season programme and it will be a fantastic game and one to look forward to.
“It is a one-off match in terms of the way Hoffenheim play and the quality of players that they have.
“The type of football that they play will be different to what we face in the Championship.”
He added: “It will be a different type of test so we won’t be able to solely judge what happens against Hoffenheim for what we do next week.
“It’s another opportunity for a team to go out there, gel and work on some of things we’ve looked at since the first game of pre-season.”
It is expected to be the last chance for his players to impress in a game situation.
Rowett has admitted that it was in his thoughts to give those that don’t start tomorrow the chance to have a run-out for the Under-23s against Barnsley next Tuesday.
However, he is edging away from doing that and instead having a full week to work with his squad.
He said: “Next week will be interesting and the game against Barnsley Under-23s was down as a game really for those that don’t play against Hoffenheim.
“As we’re one day short by playing on the Friday we might use the week as a sheer preparation week and plenty of time on the training pitch.”
