Head Coach Paul Warne says Derby County can expect a tough challenge when they head to Kenilworth Road to face Luton Town in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday night (8pm kick-off).
The Rams will head to Luton buoyed by a 4-0 win against Portsmouth at Pride Park Stadium last Friday that saw them rise to 14th place in the league.
The Hatters sit in 19th after suffering relegation from the Premier League last season, but they have a strong home record and have taken points from eight of their 11 matches on home turf so far this term.
Warne caught up with RamsTVahead ofFriday’s fixture under the lights at Kenilworth Road.
On staying focused after a resounding 4-0 win over Portsmouth…
I don't get too over-excited for wins. It is something to go on the ‘win wall’ and we have some more goalscoring pictures, which is great. I'm pleased we’ve had back-to-back clean sheets and we were pleased to win again. The working week doesn't change depending on the results. The lads have always been upbeat anyway, so the result doesn’t change that.
On Ben Osborn’s performance against Pompey…
His role in the team is on and off the pitch, I brought him in for many reasons. He's a brilliant professional and wants to win. On the pitch he drives standards, he's aggressive but he can have the ball in tight areas. The one extra factor he's got is good decision-making and calmness with the ball. He knows when to play quickly and when to take the sting out of a game. That aside, he's a brilliant guy and a brilliant winner. You just know he's going to give you everything. Every time he plays, he's more often than not near the top athletic performers.
On opponents Luton Town and their return to the Championship…
Rob Edwards is a great coach and a great person. I enjoy talking to him as I will after the game on Friday. There's always a hangover when teams come down a division and it happens at every level. To hit the ground running straight away with complete positivity isn't easy and the league is tough. Even though we were fortunate enough to win 4-0 last week against Portsmouth, there were moments in the first half that could’ve swung the game in a different direction. One goal goes in for them and it's a completely different outlook.
Like the majority of this league, there isn't a great deal splitting the teams and Luton can probably feel that have been one tackle, one post-nick, or one goal away from going on a really good run. As a home side, Luton have been excellent, that has been true for years now. Kenilworth Road is a different sort of ground, a different atmosphere and ground to most other Championship grounds. Luton is close, with a tight pitch, so it is always a different sort of game. Once they get their away form going, which everyone wants to do, they'll ascend through the league.