Zian Flemming on his training ethic, wanting Netherlands to face England in World Cup and why he’s demanding more from start of his Millwall career

Zian Flemming is less than five months into his Millwall career but the club’s record signing has already made an early impression in the Championship.

The 24-year-old Amsterdam-born attacker has five goals in his first 15 appearances following his £1.7million move from Fortuna Sittard in late June.

If you average that out over the course of a 46-game season then Flemming would finish on 16 goals, four more than Benik Afobe, who was top of the Lions’ scoring charts in the previous campaign. Highly respectable.

“If you had asked me at the start of the season if I’d be happy with five goals by the end of October then I’d have said yes,” Flemming told the South London Press. “But once you have those five goals you always look at the moments you could’ve scored.

“For example I didn’t score against Huddersfield [on Saturday, a 1-0 defeat]. I didn’t have a chance, but I’m still like f***, it’s a game where I should’ve really wanted to help the team out with one or two goals and win us the game.

“Five goals is not bad, for this time of the year, but you always want more. Right now I am happy, kind of satisfied, but on the other hand I’m also not. It’s mixed feelings, really.”

The training ethic of Dutchman Flemming and German striker Andreas Voglsammer, also signed in the last transfer window from Union Berlin, have been publicly commended by Lions boss Gary Rowett.

He talked about the pair helping to drive standards in the group, often staying out on the Calmont Road training pitches after a session has been completed.

“It’s mostly to do regular finishing,” said Flemming of his extra curricular activity. “That’s what I tend to do the most, if your body allows you. Sometimes you have to be a bit smart as well on certain days after a game – take a bit of a rest. I’ll always tend to do a bit of finishing after training. And then after that a few free-kicks to top it off – especially the day before a game, because we’ve got a bit more time to do so.

“It’s not free-kicks all the time because that is a very small part of the game – the normal finishing is way more important.”

But Flemming’s focus on small details can also be seen on a matchday.

The former Ajax youngster is not superstitious but one habit is to take a few strikes of the ball around the edge of the penalty box after the warm-up is over.

“I just feel after that I’ve done everything to prepare me for the game,” explained Flemming. “If I don’t do it and we get a free-kick then maybe it will be my first ball in that area of the day – so it feels good to have shot, at least one or two. It doesn’t really matter if they go good or bad, just that it’s not the first one of the day.”

Millwall fans instantly labelled Flemming the Bermondsey Bergkamp after he signed.

Flemming has talked about Kevin De Bruyne being the player he most admires. The Manchester City star scored a sensational free-kick last weekend to down Leicester City, so can the Lions’ number 10 learn any tricks just by watching him off TV?

“I think you could, especially with moments like this – free-kicks are isolated moments,” said Flemming. “But he does it with a different technique than I normally go with.

“In the end it is up to you really to do what you are comfortable with and not try to copy too much other players.

“I also don’t like to study other players too much because I want to do whatever comes into my mind and be free when I’m on the pitch – not think too much.”

One thing that is instinct now for Flemming is his muscle flex pose after scoring – a nod to UFC fighter Nate Diaz.

That has made the transition from the Eredivisie to the Championship.

“I had just come back from a long injury – half a year or a year before that – where I’d grown a lot, and that’s why I needed to get to know my body again because I was 20 centimetres bigger all of a sudden,” said Flemming.

“When everything was back in balance Ajax still didn’t pick me.

“That celebration was a symbol of keep fighting, because Nate Diaz did the same, at that particular time, against Conor McGregor. He got beaten up in the first few rounds but still choked him out.

“It started as a one-time thing, really, and I got stuck with it, kept doing it.”

Flemming’s first goal in Millwall colours came in the 2-1 win over Blackpool in September.

But initially a number of media outlets credited it as an own goal by keeper Dan Grimshaw.

The EFL confirmed a couple of days later that it had been officially credited to Flemming and that referee Darren Bond had marked it down at the time as his goal.

“The only doubt for me was whether the ball was over the line or not,” he said. “Luckily we have goal-line technology in the Champ. When the referee said it was a goal I was 100 per cent sure it was my goal – I saw what happened with the ball.

“I was very surprised when the goal wasn’t given to me in the first place.”

Millwall only have two more fixtures remaining, starting with struggling Hull City at The Den tomorrow, before the league shuts down for the World Cup after their trip to Preston North End on November 12.

The Lions do not return to competitive action until December 3 at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, a match that had been postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

“I find it funny that it is such a big deal here because for me it is nothing more than normal,” said Flemming of the temporary fixture freeze.

“In Holland we would have a winter break one month later, in December. The league would always stop for something like three weeks so that you could have either a week or 10 days off, depending on the schedule.

“There would then be two weeks of training and you go back in again. In the Netherlands and other European countries it is just normal to have a short winter break.

“It’s good for the players as well to get out of there for a bit, refresh physically and mentally so that you come back ready to go again.

“The only thing is that the timing here, November, is a bit earlier in the season. If you do it how we do it normally in Europe, the last weekend before Christmas we stop and everyone tends to like it.

“You think ‘good, we’ve got the first half of the season done now and we go into the second half’.”

Flemming will tune in to see how his nation fares in Qatar.

“I expect them to win the group, after that it is a bit about luck with which countries you face,” he said. “The Netherlands will always have a good side and go there to compete, even against the favourite countries.

“I really don’t know [how Netherlands will fare] because our main players are not playing everything at their club. Van Dijk is but Frankie de Jong and Memphis Depay are struggling a bit at Barcelona. Wijnaldum is injured at Roma. It can go either way.

“It will be nice if they play England. It will go all orange in the city.”