Rowett Hails Ledley's 'Character And Confidence'

Gary Rowett hailed Joe Ledley’s character and confidence after the midfielder signed a new 18-month contract with Derby County.

The Wales international signed for the Rams in September on an initial deal until January, but that has now been extended after his superb form for the club so far this season.

Rowett believes that Ledley took a gamble by moving to Pride Park Stadium on a short-term contract, and he thinks that his bravery has now been rewarded.

He told RamsTV: “We were always in agreement that he took the gamble of a short-term deal, because at the time he was being offered two and three-year deals.

“For him to take that short-term deal spoke volumes of his character and also his confidence that he could earn something longer and he deserves it.

“We’re really pleased, we’ve been working hard to make it happen over the past two or three weeks, there was always going to be some type of complications with that type of player when he’s done so well for you.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to get it done. He’s proved his worth, he’s shown what a valuable player he is in this team and it’s really good to have him for longer."

The announcement came after Rowett’s side suffered an unlucky 1-0 defeat to Ipswich Town on Tuesday night, with Callum Connolly’s sixth minute header good enough for the three points.

The Derby boss believes that his team need to find a way to play through opposition that come to Pride Park solely to defend.

He said: “When a team sits that deep, you’ve got to be really patient and show a little bit of quality at the end, but we didn’t have that tonight.

“We had lots of opportunities, but we just couldn’t show that final touch of quality right at the end.

“We have to accept that teams are going to drop in very deep and limit space for us, and that’s probably a compliment to the fact that when Vyds, Nuge, Weimann and Lawrence have got space they’re very difficult to stop.

“What we did in the second half was much better, but I’m sure Burton are going to come and do exactly the same on Saturday.”