3/1 To Win
That’s the question that Derby County’s manager is facing ahead of Tuesday night’s meeting with Ipswich Town after sticking with the same starting XI for the past two games.
And after another big win – this time against Middlesbrough on Saturday – he admits it is difficult to ‘disrupt something when it is going well’ even when the games are coming at a relentless pace.
The Rams will play their third game in a week tomorrow when they finally play their game in hand against the Tractor Boys at Pride Park Stadium, kick-off: 7:45pm.
How hard are those decisions, though? Especially when the team is doing so well.
“Leading into every game over the last five or six weeks I have yo-yoed between making certain changes and playing certain players,” Rowett said during his pre-match press conference.
“With Chris (Martin), George (Thorne) and Johnny (Russell) I am thinking all the time about how I can get them into the team because they are good players, but at the same time it is hard to disrupt something when it is going well.
“One thing you know as a manager is that, at some point, you are going to have to change it. That’s a decision I am always faced with every week.
“Anyone who thinks I just turn up and pick the same team because I don’t want to change it is wrong.
“Every game we are looking at the options and how we can improve things, but the reality is we have won another game of football against a good side and it’s difficult to make those changes.”
Rowett also confirmed that he has got no new injury concerns ahead of the visit of Mick McCarthy’s side on Tuesday night.
The 43-year-old has also provided an injury update on Sam Winnall and Bradley Johnson and revealed that both are likely to miss the visit of Ipswich, but are closing in on a return to action.
He said: “I don’t think we have had any injuries from the weekend. I think Sam (Winnall) will be the only one that was always going to be touch and go for this game.
“I don’t think Johnno (Bradley Johnson) will be available and maybe the pair will have a chance for the weekend.
“It might be a case that, after a hamstring injury, that we leave him another week that he’s ready for the Christmas period.”
