Derby County’s George Evans has stressed that the Rams will not be taking Saturday’s Carabao Cup First Round clash against Sky Bet League Two side, and EFL newcomers, Barrow, lightly.
The Rams’ pre-season campaign came to an end on Tuesday evening as they were beaten 2-0 by Premier League side Sheffield United at Pride Park Stadium in a pre-season friendly, but their attention now turns to Saturday’s cup clash at Pride Park Stadium.
Barrow secured their spot back in the EFL following their promotion from the National League last season. Promotion was gained under the points-per-game method as former Rams Academy product Ian Evatt led them to the title.
Under new management following Evatt’s move to Bolton Wanderers, Barrow are now led by former Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City midfielder David Dunn.
And Evans, who signed a new contract with the club last week until the summer of 2022, knows that the Rams will have to be at their best to get a positive result and progress to the Second Round.
“We are not going to underestimate Barrow,” Evans told RamsTV.
“It’s a big game for us too because we want to do well in the competition so we are definitely not going to underestimate them, especially playing at Pride Park. It’s a big game for us, we need to make sure we perform and win the game.”
He added: “We’ve worked on a lot of things and we need to put those into the game on Saturday, because we need to make sure we win it. We are at Pride Park and we expect to win all our games at home, so it is something we want to push for.
“We need to make sure we work hard in the next couple of days, make sure we get ourselves ready and give ourselves the best opportunity to beat Barrow.”
Should the Rams progress to the Second Round of the competition, the game would take place between the opening two Sky Bet Championship fixtures.
Whilst it would make it a packed fixture list to start the campaign, Evans believes the Rams are more than ready for the fight.
“As a footballer, you want games,” he said. “A lot of games means a lot of opportunities so the more games there are, the more opportunities there are.
“For me, it’s something I want to thrive off and be a part of so a lot of games is good for everyone. It’s a lot of game time and everyone will be fighting to make sure they get in that starting line-up.”