Scott Carson believes that Derby County are in control of their own destiny, as the goalkeeper gets set to take on the club where he made his professional debut.
The Rams’ No.1 started his career with Leeds United when they were in the Premier League, and he made his senior bow during the 2003/04 season.
Now, the Whites have a new man in charge – Paul Heckingbottom was appointed earlier this month – but Carson has urged Derby to focus on themselves as they look to get back to winning ways.
He told dcfc.co.uk: “It’s going to be a tough game, they have a new manager, new philosophies and there will be players that are playing for their places.
“We’ve got a lot to play for ourselves and we need to get back on track, because it’s all in our hands.”
The defeat against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough was the first in the league since the November reverse at home to Ipswich Town.
Carson admitted that some key aspects that have contributed to the unbeaten run were missing on that night in South Yorkshire, but he still saw some positives in the performance.
He explained: “Looking back, we were disappointed to come off having lost the game, but I think that there were a lot of positives to take out of the game.
“We created a lot more chances than we have been doing, and I think that’s the biggest thing that we’ve got to take out of it.
“We were more open than usual and we came out of our zones a little more than we have been, and that’s been one of the factors behind our run of clean sheets.”
Results at the weekend mean that Derby will go into the game at Pride Park Stadium on Wednesday in fourth place in the Sky Bet Championship, whilst Cardiff City took advantage of Aston Villa’s slip-up to move into the second automatic position.
For Carson, there is still a long way to go…
“There will be a lot of ups and downs, I would think that we are going to lose games between now and the end of the season, but that’s the same for everyone else.
“Whoever can hold their nerve will go up, and if someone can go unbeaten for the last 14 games, then you hold your hands up and say they deserve it, and hopefully it can be us.”