He's made the most of the mid-season break with his players but Millwall boss Gary Rowett is itching to get to Sunderland for the return of Championship action.
The Lions went into the break on a high, impressively winning at Preston to sign-off for the winter stoppage in the top six of the Championship table.
Keen to ensure Millwall didn't lose any of that momentum, Rowett organised a couple of friendlies for the break, with his side drawing 1-1 with Brondby on Saturday before another game that was scheduled to take place behind closed doors on Tuesday.
The Brondby game ticked the box for Rowett, who wanted his players to stay as match sharp as possible, but the trip to the Stadium of Light can't come soon enough.
He told NewsatDen: "For us, it was about the workout, it was the fitness, everyone’s come through unscathed.
"We’ve mixed the teams up so, again, you get a little bit of a lack of continuity within the game at times. That was the main thing, it felt a bit like a pre-season friendly.
“It’s a very different type of game and when the fans aren’t there to put them under a little bit more pressure and some parts of the game feel a little bit like ‘ugh, god, blow the whistle and let’s get to Sunderland.’
“There are some bits of it that you accept, as a manager, aren’t going to be perfect, but I think most of the players got 45 minutes, some got a little bit more that I wanted to give a bit longer to.
“That’s all it’s about, it’s about getting us through to Sunderland and trying to keep a little bit of continuity going if we can.”
Millwall could be again without Ryan Leonard on Wearside. Rowett was hoping the midfielder, who has been out with a hamstring injury, would be fit to return this weekend, but he hasn't made as much progress as anticipated over the break.
Asked whether Leonard would be involved, Rowett said: “I’m not sure”.
“He didn’t quite make enough progress. Again, we have to take our time with these types of injuries. I’m hopeful, but we’ll see.”
Shaun Hutchinson returned for the Brondby game but Benik Afobe is a doubt for the Sunderland as he battles a knee injury.
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