Phillip Cocu is keen to embrace the big-game feel ahead of Derby County’s Sky Bet Championship clash at Leeds United this weekend.
The two clubs will go head-to-head for the first time this season at Elland Road on Saturday lunchtime (12:30pm kick-off) in front on the Sky Sports cameras.
Derby and Leeds met four times last term as the two sides competed to secure promotion to the Premier League.
Leeds had the better of the Rams in the two league fixtures, running out convincing 4-1 winners at Pride Park last August and then deserved 2-0 victors at Elland Road a few months later.
They locked horns once again in the play-off semi-finals as their long-standing rivalry, stemming back to some thrilling encounters as they competed for major honours under Brian Clough and Don Revie in the 1970s, continued.
Leeds were 1-0 winners at Pride Park in the first leg back in May, but Derby created history in the second leg at Elland Road a few days later.
They were 4-2 winners on the night, 4-3 on aggregate, and became the first team in Championship history to overturn a first leg defeat on home turf on a memorable night to reach the play-off final against Aston Villa.
Derby were ultimately unsuccessful in their quest to reach the top-flight and, for the tenth successive season, two of English football’s most historic clubs will once again meet in the second tier.
Since that dramatic play-off semi-final second leg, there’s been plenty of change in the Derby camp.
Phillip Cocu is now the manager, after Frank Lampard departed to join Chelsea, while just seven of the 14 players that featured for the Rams that night are in line to feature tomorrow.
The Rams sit in 19th place after seven games, while Leeds occupy top spot after flying out of the traps impressively this season.
Cocu is looking forward to the challenge of taking on the leaders and is keen to embrace the history between the two clubs, rather than shy away from it.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday: “I know it was a big rivalry in the 1970s and also with the games last season and the play-offs.
“It’s all part of the history between the clubs and that’s what it is, a big game. You cannot run away and hide from the rivalry, it is good to play these kinds of matches that have that bit more about them.
“I like it. It is a beautiful game to play. It is a difficult game and as a player you should enjoy playing for a club where there’s a lot of history between the opponent.
“I am looking forward to being part of it and experiencing the atmosphere in the stadium. We have to deal with the circumstances that come up during the game, but it’s important to not lose control and that’s important from experienced players.”
He added: “When two teams with a lot of history together play against each other, there’s always something extra involved.
“It’s what makes the game really special. It’s great to play in these games; full stadium, pressure on and taking on a team at the top of the league. They are one of the favourites for direct promotion, in my opinion. They are a quality team.”
Cocu has spoken in glowing terms of the job that Bielsa has done in a relatively short time at Elland Road.
He took charge of Leeds last summer and quickly established them as a force in the Championship, driving them to the cusp of a return to the Premier League.
Bielsa is admired by many in the game for his style of play and philosophy and Cocu sees the Argentinian’s identity in his side.
He said: “I think he is a manager with a lot of experience.
“He has been there for a year getting his philosophy and style across and bringing in the players he needs to suit that.
“They are good on the ball and have a lot of high energy. You see the style of the manager in the team and that is one of the reasons, as well as the individual quality of the players, that they are top of the league now and doing very well.”
Derby travel to Leeds looking to claim their first league victory since the opening day of the campaign.
Since then, they’ve recorded four draws and two defeats from six matches.
Cocu was encouraged with the performance of his side last time out, as they drew 1-1 with Cardiff City at Pride Park last Friday.
He is convinced his side are on the right track to climbing the table and says they must continue to work hard as a group to secure the results he believes Derby’s performances have deserved.
He said: “I was encouraged by what I saw from the team last week. I was happy both in terms of attitude and mentality in the game and also the way we tried to play football.
“It was a good reaction to the loss at Brentford and we have new fresh energy in the team. We’ve had a useful week with the team to continue our work and we have a big game coming up.
“I am convinced that we are not far off and we have spoken about details in the game.
“I didn’t accept the way we played at Brentford, but in the other games we have shown some great stuff. Sometimes the different between winning and drawing is so close, so we must work harder to be on the right side of that.”