3/1 To Win
Scott Carson insists Derby County’s players are relishing the prospect of returning to competitive action after an enforced three-week break.
The postponement of the Rams’ home clash with Cardiff City, followed by the two-week international break, has provided the squad with an extended period without a game.
Derby’s last Sky Bet Championship action came on 11th March as Gary Rowett’s side played out a goalless draw at local rivals Nottingham Forest.
As well as getting down to work on the training ground and preparing for the run-in over the last few weeks, the unexpected spell without a fixture has also provided the squad with a chance to recharge their batteries.
Nine games remain in the regular league campaign, of which five are to be played at Pride Park Stadium, and Carson says the Rams’ squad are fired up to cement their place in the top six.
Derby sit fifth in the table ahead of tonight's Good Friday showdown with Sunderland on home turf (7:45pm kick-off) - and the goalkeeper says the players know what is required of them in the weeks ahead.
Importantly, he believes everyone is approaching the run-in upbeat and excited for what’s to come.
Speaking to RamsTV, he said: “I am excited about the next few weeks; we all are.
“We just need to get back to winning ways and I don’t think anyone cares at this present time how we play.
“Everyone just wants to get back to winning again so we can give ourselves a chance (of gaining promotion) come the start of May.
“We would prefer to be where we were a couple of months ago (in an automatic promotion place) but we know if you don’t win games that you will drop down a few places.
“I am pretty sure we would have taken this position at the end of September and early October, hands down.
“We know what we have to do and we’re still in a great position to get out of the league at the end of the season. It’s about getting everything to come together now to get over the line.”
He added: “We all know we have some big games coming up, especially at home, and we know we need to get three points from them.”
The clean sheet in the goalless draw at Forest last time out was Derby’s first since the beginning of February.
Carson felt the performance at the City Ground offered plenty of encouragement as the Rams seek to return to winning form after a run of five draws and two losses in their last seven outings.
The 32-year-old had little to do on the day as the Rams’ solid defensive showing ensured the hosts didn’t register a single shot on target over the 90 minutes.
Looking back on the game, last season’s Player of the Year said: “It was nice to get a clean sheet after a little while – it seems ages ago now.
“We ended up getting a point from a local derby away from home but to be honest I felt we did enough to win the game.
“I think it was a better performance, though, and definitely something that we can build on.”
He added: “It’s a big team effort and ever since I have been here we’ve had a decent defensive record and kept a fair few clean sheets as well.
“That’s not just down to me and the back four; it’s about the whole team working hard, pressing the ball and doing everything right as a team - and everyone knows it all starts from the front.”
Sunderland will head to Pride Park on Friday night bottom of the table and fighting to avoid a second successive relegation.
The Black Cats, relegated from the Premier League last season, are five points adrift of safety with eight matches to play.
Carson, who has played in English football’s top two divisions for the vast majority of his career, believes the gap between the Premier League and the Championship has narrowed in recent years.
He said: “People, perhaps not as much nowadays, expect the teams that come down will automatically go back up but it is very hard to do that in the Championship.
“When you have top players that are used to playing in the Premier League, it can be difficult dropping down and playing three games a week quite regularly. Everyone wants to play in the Premier League and sometimes it can be a shock to people when they haven’t played in this league before.
“The gap has closed football wise between the two divisions, but there’s a big difference of sides in the Championship and the fact you play Saturday-Tuesday a lot which mean the demands of the league are quite high.”
