Gary Rowett has praised Derby County’s quality at both ends of the pitch after putting themselves in a strong position in the Sky Bet Championship table.
Derby occupy second place following 28 matches and have established themselves as promotion contenders in recent months.
The Rams have kept 14 clean sheets so far this term and have the second-best defensive record in the division behind league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Meanwhile in attack, they’re amongst the top scorers in the division after hitting the net on 44 occasions – with only Wolves and Fulham scoring more.
Rowett has praised Derby’s desire to make sure key moments in games have gone their way – as well as finding different ways to win games.
He told RamsTV: “We have been resolute as a team and that’s given us a platform to move forward with.
“When we’ve had to make challenges, and defend properly, we have done that. Whenever Scott Carson has been called upon to make one big save, not four or five, he has done that.
“At the other end we’ve also had that quality at the other end and that’s vital to win tight games.
“Those moments of quality have gone for us because we’ve worked hard to make it happen. I don’t think it’s luck at all; the skill of the players has taken us forward to go and win us matches.
“We’ve had to find different ways to win games at times and that’s pleasing.”
He added: “In every game we’ve lost, you could say the key moments have gone against us; that hasn’t happened that often at this stage.
“Anyone who watches the Championship regularly will know there’s not often too much between the teams, but what tends to happen is one team can come up with a bit of quality.
“We have to continue to work hard as a team to continue and maintain the form we’ve shown over the last few months.”
