“We Want To Go Out With A Bang”

Striker David Nugent is looking forward to coming up against his former boss Steve McClaren this weekend as Derby County travel to the capital to take on Queens Park Rangers.

Nugent is very familiar with the QPR boss after he handed him his only England cap in 2007. Ten years later, during his spell in charge of the Rams, McClaren bought the striker to Pride Park Stadium from Middlesbrough in January 2017.

Whilst the striker, who has netted twice this season, has admiration for his former boss, he knows that three points before the international break will send Derby County into the period of rest in a good position.

“They made some loan signings before the window shut and they’ve improved the squad,” Nugent told RamsTV. “It will be a tough game. Steve McClaren will probably want to get one over on Derby as well and all the players will want to get one over on QPR as well so the lads are looking forward to it.

“I will be forever grateful for my England debut. There was a few injuries at the time in the senior squad and he wanted to promote someone from the Under-21s and I was that person who got the call. I was grateful to come on in the game and score my goal for England so it was a proud moment for me and my family.

“He bought me to Derby as well so I’m grateful for that as well. I was at Middlesbrough and not playing at all and Steve gave me a chance to come to Derby, play some games and get my career back on track.

“It’s a quick turnaround in games from Wednesday, two days rest before the game starts and then we are back at it again. It’s the last game before the international break so we want to go out with a bang and try and get the three points.”

Nugent netted away at Millwall earlier in the season, whilst lobbed Brentford’s Daniel Bentley last month to put the Rams in the lead on the day, but Nugent knows his game is far more than just scoring goals.

“The gaffer likes the way I start the press and get the players up the pitch,” he said. “The goals aren’t there at the moment but once the lads create the chances and hit our form then I’m sure we will get up the table and get into those play-off positions where we can start threatening to get into the top two and hopefully get into the promise land where we want to be.”

The Championship table is tight at the moment and the 33-year-old knows winning momentum is key. “We are 8^th in the league and five points off the top of the league and we are a point ahead of where we were this time last season so it’s an improvement,” he commented.

“One game you can be 14^th and the next game you can be fourth. You look at the table and you see how close it is but the games come thick and fast so if you get a couple of wins under your belt then you will rocket up the table.”