Defender Alan Dunne has said he’s pleased to be back in pre season training now, as having had a good break, he can’t wait for the season to begin again.
With the players returning to pre season training today, Dunne told the official site that his 17th pre season of his Millwall career so far, was going to be a very tough one, because everybody knows that manager Ian Holloway doesn’t want us to spend any time in 2014-15 languishing away at the bottom of the table again, and when he first joined the club, he made no secret of the fact that he didn’t think players were fit enough.
‘It’s exciting to be back amongst the lads again, meeting some of the new boys and settling back into training. I didn’t really want the season to end after going eight games unbeaten, it was a miraculous recovery from where we were but we had to have the break and personally, I feel well rested after six weeks off.’
Dunne says that the main aim of pre season is to obviously get your fitness and sharpness up ahead of the new campaign, so players are in peak condition for what the league throws at them, but with this being Holloway’s first pre season in charge, they also know that a lot of work is going to be done on styles, tactics and formations, so all the players know exactly what he wants from the get go.
On a more personal note for Dunne, two of our three summer signings so far are defenders, and he said he was relishing the competition they would provide at the back and he knows it’s always good to freshen up a dressing room anyway with new faces.
‘Every year is the same with new faces coming in to help the squad. I think they’re both (Edwards & Webster) good players and will help us go on to achieve something. It’s important that players are battling for positions in the team, that’s what all good sides have, and I’m looking forward to it.’
31 year old Dunne obviously ended the season playing in the middle for the first time alongside Mark Beevers and he knows that this is something Holloway will be looking at again for the coming campaign.
‘I think the manager liked me playing as a centre half and felt that me and Beevers worked well together. We beat some of the top teams in the league in that eight game unbeaten run and I felt good there. The manager will assess things, I’m sure, and it’s up to me to keep working hard in training.’
Adding a bit of versatility to his belt isn’t going to do his game time any harm at all.
Vital Millwall on:
Vital Millwall on:
Dunne Pleased To Be Back In Pre Season
