Dedicated Rotherham United ace Joe Powell is happy to rack up the miles
JOE Powell hasn't been shying away from a summer of sweat as Rotherham United gear up for their first full League One campaign under Matt Hamshaw.
Running totals of up to 50 miles a week? Two workouts a day? Three if you were on the Portugal boot camp? And all in the baking heat?
“Yeah, I like it,” said the midfielder as he assessed the rigours of pre-season training.
“I've always been up for a challenge. The thought of it is quite daunting, knowing that you've got to run around at full speed. But, at the end of the day, that's our job and we have to be willing to do that.”
The playmaker kept himself in shape during the off-season with a mix of cardio and gym sessions and could be a main man for the Millers in the second year of his stay at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Hamshaw took charge for the final eight matches of last term and was immediately taken by the left-footed talent of the playmaker who played his best football of 2024/25 following the new boss's arrival
The admiration is mutual and the player can't wait to see how Hamshaw's influence is brought to bear on the squad.
“I'm really looking forward to it,” said Powell. “The gaffer is a very exciting coach to work under.
“I'm looking forward to all of his set-plays and routines, how he sets us up on and off the ball, how he shores things up and how he gets us attacking.”
Powell's threat was obvious from the moment he signed under previous manager Steve Evans and no other Rotherham player could match his total of 55 appearances last term.
But it was only later in that League One season that he added the consistency to go with the class and found himself winning over the sceptics as he forced his way into the division's top ten in the rankings for number of assists.
“I'm a very tunnel-vision-minded person,” he said. “As long as I'm playing and doing my job, I'm okay.
“Every player will always say that they could do better,” he said. “I've always had that view about myself.”
The Millers finished 13th last time out but Powell is eyeing better things now that big guns Birmingham City, the runaway champions with 111 points, Wrexham and Charlton Athletic are no longer part of the third-tier picture.
“It will be more open,” he said. “It's a tough division every year so it will be very competitive,” he said. “But it will be more open.
“There's not a team in there that you think might run away with it. People were saying to me at the start of last season that Birmingham would get 100 points.”