3/1 To Win
Derby County will get their 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship campaign underway in a fortnight’s time – and Andreas Weimann can’t wait.
The Rams will get the new season up and running with a tasty clash against recently-relegated Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Friday 4th August.
After just over three weeks of preparation – and a few more intense training sessions to come – Weimann says time has flown by since the squad reported back for pre-season training at the end of June.
Next up in Derby’s pre-season schedule is a friendly against 2. Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern at their Fritz-Walter-Stadion home on Saturday (3pm BST).
Austrian international Weimann, who turns 26 next month, says it will be another good test for Gary Rowett’s side.
The 2015 signing from Aston Villa told RamsTV: “The season is nearly here and it has come around really quick; we start two weeks today away at Sunderland so it’s not long now.
“I am sure everyone is looking forward to this weekend’s game at Kaiserslautern and continuing to get ready for the season.
“I haven’t been there before but I have had a look at the stadium and it looks nice. I am sure it will be a good game for us.”
A hot topic of discussion at this time of the year is the players’ fitness levels.
All of Derby’s players had off-season fitness plans to follow and have also been put through their paces in a gruelling pre-season programme.
The squad was split in midweek, with one half taking on Doncaster Rovers and the other facing Port Vale, in order to give as many players as possible to play 90 minutes.
Weimann featured in the 1-1 draw Doncaster and admits there were a few tired legs as the minutes ticked away.
However, he feels the squad will only benefit from playing a full game at this stage of their preparations for the new season.
He said: “The staff said it was all about playing 90 minutes and that’s what we did.
“There were a few tired legs out there, myself included, and I am sure doing that will help us when the season starts.
“It’s hard to play 90 minutes at this time as pre-season training is tough. During the season it isn’t as intense as it is now, so playing games becomes more natural.”
He added: “A lot of us haven’t played a full game since May so it was a long time ago. I feel good, though, and training has been quite hard. I am sure we will benefit from it as well.”
