Millwall manager Rowett assesses challenge of Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich

Gary Rowett reckons it is hard to pick out the sides who could be Championship contenders this season – with the Millwall chief knowing first hand the challenges that clubs relegated from the top flight face.

AFC Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich made the drop from the Premier League.

The Cherries have promoted Jason Tindall into their top job following Eddie Howe’s resignation. Watford recently confirmed Vladimir Ivic as their new head coach.

Lions manager Rowett said: “Is anyone going to be stronger than Leeds? I’d find it hard to believe they will be – because they were so good last season.

“We’ve obviously got good teams coming down but it’s always the same, I don’t think you look at the names or look at the clubs. I’ve been at a club [Stoke] that had been relegated and it’s not easy to stabilise that – because you’ve got a lot of players who maybe don’t want to be there or have lost half their wages. So there’s a lot of factors.

“It will be as competitive as ever.

“All we’ve got to do is take care of ourselves and try and get that consistency straight away which gives you a fighting chance of getting into those top six or top 10 positions.

“That’s all we can do. Every season you look at the Championship and it’s impossible to predict.”

Bournemouth opted to go for an internal appointment – a bit like Fulham, who managed to bounce back into the Premier League at the first attempt under Scott Parker. Parker got the job on a full-time basis after initially being handed it on a caretaker basis following the dismissal of Claudio Ranieri.

“Scottie did a fantastic job and there’s no reason why Jason Tindall won’t do the same,” said Rowett. “If you looked at Bournemouth and Bristol, it’s been quite surprising that both those clubs have lost managers for different reasons and not recruited externally.

“They’ve appointed from within. There is obviously a lot of trust in that continuity.

“It’s impossible to predict how those teams are going to fare. If you look at the teams who have come down in the last 10 years, there are quite a number who haven’t managed to bounce back up – and even a little more who have done worse than that.

“As ever in the Championship it keeps pushing forward and getting stronger and ever-more competitive.”