The issue is....if a child dislikes math, is it going to make getting those speed drills down any easier? Nope. Harder? Yes, if you have a kid like mine. Once he turns off to something, mental walls go up.
What I did w/ my son when his multi tables lagged behind his math...I gave him a multiplication chart to look at when he was doing long division and multi-digit multiplication. At a later point in the day, we did speed drills with card games, worksheets etc. He is noticeably slower on worksheets than card games. More relaxed perhaps w/ card games. BUT when DS was in school, the teacher said the math speed drills was often MORE about handwriting speed and less about knowing the facts. DS is NOT a fast writer. He forms each letter and number perfectly and carefully. As a 5th grader he's now a faster writer but has slowed down again w/ cursive. So I would look at handwriting speed. Do the facts orally w/ him looking at them on the paper and compare that time w/ him writing them down.
