Gary Rowett and his Derby County squad will be hard at work this week as they prepare for their next outing in the Sky Bet Championship, but they’ll be stepping out onto the training pitch in a very different location.


With no fixture scheduled until the trip to The Den to face Millwall on Tuesday 30th January, this week was seen as the perfect opportunity for Gary Rowett to take his players away for some warm weather training.

The squad departed for Dubai on Saturday and after the stalemate against Lee Johnson’s side last Friday, Rowett explained why the players deserve to get away from the colder climate of Derby.

Speaking to RamsTV, he said: “We’ve got a little bit of a break now so we’re going to get a little bit of sunshine, I don’t want to annoy the people of the Midlands too much with the cold weather but the players have earned it.

“When we come back, we’ll certainly be ready for the last 18 games of the season.”

The boss was keen to point out that the squad aren’t flying out for a break, and there will be plenty of hard work to ensure that the players are fully prepared for the meeting with the resurgent Lions when they return.

He said: “They have earned a recharge but we’ll still be working out there, we’ll be doing double sessions some days and we’ll work incredibly hard, but we’ll be in the sunshine so the quality of our work will be a little bit better.”

Rowett, who signed a new contract with the club recently that will keep him with the Rams until 2021, praised the club’s Executive Chairman and Owner, Mel Morris CBE for helping the trip to go ahead.

“It’s something that a lot of teams do and we’re very fortunate that Mel has allowed it, and it will be nice to get out there and get some quality work in,” he said.

“When we get back, we know we’re in for that long slog to finish the season off.”