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Gary Rowett

Coaching Sessions

Gary Rowett: Keeping it real

Player and Coach Development

Gary Rowett speaks to Ben Bartlett about the coaches that shaped his playing career and his future philosophies, how he creates his support team, and why authenticity is crucial

Defending and the transition to counter-attack

Defending

These activities are designed to move the ball with speed and quality along with getting players to transition quickly into counter-attacks. They also focus on encouraging players to be more clinical in front of goal. The session comprises of a small possession game, a possession game with a transition that concludes with a variety of finishing, and a counter-attacking wave game that starts with a transition.

Playing against pressure

Midfield

This is a session that aims to combat the threat of playing against a team that presses well in central areas.

Defending the danger zone

Defending

This session is designed to work on defending in the ‘danger zone’, but it also works on attacking in the danger zone too. Studies have shown that a significant proportion of goals have been created from the zone 1 area, where a greater number of assists are expected to occur, so it’s important that attackers are drilled to capitalise on this and defenders are trained to react accordingly.

Counter-attacking with an overload

Attacking

Get your players attacking with pace and exploiting the space that an overload creates, then encourage them to be clinical in their finishing.

Biography

Gary Rowett enjoyed a long playing career as a defender and played for four of the clubs he has subsequently managed: Burton Albion, Birmingham City, Derby County and Leicester City. Starting his coaching career in 2009 as assistant manager at Burton Albion, he was appointed to the top job in 2012 and he led the team to a fourth place finish and the League Two play-off semi-finals the following year. He was appointed manager of struggling Championship side Birmingham City in October 2014 and was highly regarded for his transformation of the team before his departure in December 2016, leaving with the club seventh in the table. He became Derby County manager in March 2017 and spent 14 months at Pride Park before taking charge of Stoke City in May 2018. He managed Millwall, from 2019 to 2023, before returning to Birmingham City as interim manager in 2024. Rowett joined Oxford United in December 2024, helping the club avoid relegation from the Championship. In February 2026 Rowett was appointed as manager of Leicester City until the end of the 2025–26 season.

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