Nugent: “We Want To Go As Far As We Can”

David Nugent has insisted that Derby County’s players want to enjoy success in the FA Cup this season alongside their league campaign.

Derby reached the Fifth Round of the competition for the first time in four years following a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Sky Bet League One side Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

Striker Martyn Waghorn scored the only goal of the game with 12 minutes remaining with a close-range finish for Frank Lampard’s side as they avoided a potential cup upset.

The Rams sit sixth in the Championship table as the race to reach the Premier League hots up – but Nugent believes a run in the FA Cup can complement their promotion aspirations.

Derby used their progress in the Carabao Cup earlier in the campaign, where they reached Round Four, to build momentum and rise up the league standings.

Discussing why Derby have impressed in the cups this season, Nugent told BT Sport: “The gaffer, who won a lot of honours in his playing career, has played a strong side in every cup game this season.

“We want to go as far as we can and there’s nothing like a cup run. I have been on a few myself and there’s nothing better.

“Hopefully we can get another good tie in Round Five and carry on.”

Nugent played the full 90 minutes in the victory at Accrington and was keen to single out two of his team-mates for special praise.

Waghorn’s second goal in three games proved to be decisive, while goalkeeper Kelle Roos made a vital save in injury-time to keep out Billy Kee’s free-kick.

Nugent said: “It was a hard tie and Accrington had a few chances at the end, especially where Kelle made a great save from the free-kick.

“Waggy has been in great form over the last four or five games and he managed to get the goal we needed to go through to the next round.”