Phillip Cocu has stressed the importance of Derby County ‘showing the right mentality’ when they head south to take on Reading this weekend and get their Christmas games programme underway.
Derby will travel to the Madejski Stadium to take on the Royals on Saturday 21st December (3pm kick-off) in their final Sky Bet Championship fixture before Christmas.
The clash against the Royals will then be followed by another game on the road at Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day, before taking on Charlton Athletic and Barnsley on home turf either side of the New Year.
This weekend’s clash against Reading provides Cocu’s side with the opportunity to arrest a frustrating run of form on the road.
Derby have recorded just one win on their travels this term, at Huddersfield Town on the opening day of the season, and have also tasted defeat in each of their last five away fixtures.
Performances away from home haven’t warranted that particular sequence of results, which makes the Derby boss confident they aren’t far away from seeing their form improve.
Cocu says it’s important that, together, Derby find a way to get a result – and he says displaying the right mentality and character is vital.
“This is the start of the Christmas period and the first game is always the most important for us,” the Derby boss told RamsTV.
“The first one is Reading and we will go there to try and get a result. We need it because it was unfortunate that we couldn’t get a result in the last home game, against Millwall, and we know what it means.
“We have to find a way to get a result and also believe that it is possible because we were not far off in the last few away games and I think we were quite close to getting a result.
“If we have the right mentality and show the faith we have and have shown before, and we have a little bit of luck, then things can change. I think the chance of change and getting a result is bigger if we show good character.”
He added: “We played well in the first five or ten minutes last weekend, but then we slipped away again.
“We stepped up in the second half and it confirms again that a steady performance over the 90 minutes will give you a result and not 60 or 70 minutes.
“Sometimes when you are in a good mood and everything goes your way, you can do that, but for us it is just not good enough at the moment and we really have to work for it to get the result.”
Cocu, following his appointment last summer, will oversee his first festive period as Derby’s manager.
In his native Holland, and across various other countries in Europe, a winter break comes into play over Christmas.
Playing games over the holiday period is very much a tradition in English football and the 49-year-old is looking forward to being part of it.
With Derby playing four games, plus an Emirates FA Cup Third Round tie at Crystal Palace, over the next fortnight the matches are set to come thick and fast.
“It is a new experience, but I am looking forward to it,” said Cocu.
“There are a lot of games coming up over Christmas and we have to look at the bright side and it is always a pleasure to play football. You get into the job as a manager or a player to play games, not only be on the training pitch. It is positive and we are looking forward to it.
“It is a tradition over here and I recall in one or two seasons they tried to do it in Holland too, but it doesn’t work because we don’t have the tradition. Now we are part of it; I like it.
“We have to make sure that with so many games coming up we are doing well and focus on the matches.”