3/1 To Win
Richard Keogh is proud of the way Derby County's players have displayed a strong character and let their personality shine on the pitch.
The Rams’ defender says everyone in the Derby camp is determined to keep their momentum going in a Hull City double-header following back-to-back wins at home.
Derby’s first trip to KCOM Stadium is on Tuesday night for the Carabao Cup Round Two clash and they will return five days later to resume Sky Bet Championship action ahead of the international break.
Keogh, who scored in the Rams’ 2-0 win over Preston North End, believes that the team’s unity and cohesiveness will be reflected in the results.
“Last week was a good week for us and we look forward now to a good cup game. It’s quite strange that we will play Hull twice in a week,” the 32-year-old told RamsTV.
“It will be another tough game, but I don’t think you can read too much into the game Tuesday for the game on the weekend; there will probably be a few changes in both teams.
“It’s a matter of keeping training how we have been, going over the game on Saturday, what we can do better and what we did really well.
“There were a lot of positives, but momentum is key in this league. We got two good wins and if we keep playing like that and being a team then we should be fine.”
Frank Lampard has brought a work-rate driven philosophy to Pride Park Stadium and is challenging his side to take chances, push forward and be creative.
With a style that forces players to be brave, Keogh accepts that there will be mistakes made, especially at the early stages of the season, but he is pleased with the way the Rams respond when those minor slip-ups happen.
“The style of play is changing and there are going to be mistakes. As players we are trying to show personality on the ball and that’s what the manager wants,” Keogh said.
“If you want to play that way you have to be brave on the ball. At times we will make mistakes, but I think you see in our reaction that when we do we try and win the ball back as quickly as possible for each other.
“I like the character of the lads and the personality. I still think we are learning as a team, we have bought in a lot of young players and are still feeling each other out.
“There will be bumps in the road, but I think we showed really good character and we deserved the victory on Saturday.”
The centre-back grabbed his first goal since February on Saturday, when he hit the net in a 3-3 draw at Reading. Mason Mount delivered a corner to the far post where Keogh rose highest and powered in the side's second goal of the game.
Mount broke the deadlock in the first-half which proved a vital moment as Derby pulled away as the stronger side, before Keogh’s header sealed the victory.
“It was a great ball from Mounty, he has a great delivery from set plays. I just tried to attack it as best as I could and I’m happy that it went in.
“It was nice to get the second goal, we needed that because we were on top and we just needed that second goal to kill it. We spoke at the start of the season that we wanted more goals from set plays and we have managed a couple already this season.
“We look dangerous from them because we have a good delivery now. Hopefully we can get a few more moving forward.”
