3/1 To Win
Central defender Fikayo Tomori believes his partnership with Richard Keogh is going from 'strength to strength' as Derby County prepare for the visit of his former club Hull City this weekend.
The pair have been in good form at the heart of the Rams' defence this season and have kept back-to-back clean sheets in their last two games against Accrington Stanley and Preston North End.
A game against Tomori’s former side awaits this weekend but the defender revealed he is learning a lot from his loan spell with the Rams from Premier League side Chelsea.
“It is developing every day in training,” Tomori told RamsTV. “You learn new things about somebody when you are training with them.
“You know if they are going to go in to press somebody or if they are going in for the header or whatever it is.
“The Preston game they came out really strong in the second half so we had to defend and we did that really well with Kelle Roos behind us and the whole team.
“It was a good game for us and hopefully we can keep another clean sheet on Saturday.”
The last line of defence is the goalkeeper.
After Scott Carson picked up an injury prior to the game against Reading, Kelle Roos has stepped up and impressed between the sticks.
The Dutchman has made a number of stunning saves in recent games and Tomori thinks he has stepped up well.
“He is a big guy so it is hard to get past him in the first place,” he said. “He did well when he first came in and has managed to keep his place and that is a credit to him.
“He has been working hard in training and sometimes being the second goalkeeper it might be a bit difficult to stay motivated but he is always in the gym and doing the right things. Everyone is happy for him.”
Tomori spent the season on loan at the Tigers last term, but was restricted to 25 appearances.
The defender has already surpassed that total with the Rams but he did learn a lot whilst at the KCOM Stadium.
Nigel Adkins’ men have been on a remarkable run since November and find themselves four points off the play-off places, despite sitting second-from-bottom just a few months ago.
“It shows in the Championship just how quickly things can change,” Tomori commented. “With two wins in their first 14 games and now they are just four points behind us, and we are just behind the play-off places.
“They are obviously a team full of confidence at the moment getting results and getting wins. They are playing well and we know it is going to be a tough test, but in the same breath we have had a few good performances of late and we are trying to get back in the play-off places as well.
“In the Championship there are no easy games. Sometimes people can think if you play a team below you that’s a win or a team that is on form they should win then suddenly they surprise you and beat you.
“We have to turn draws into wins, that’s the first thing ad what we are working hard in training to do. Starting Saturday we need to turn the draw from last week in to a win and hopefully keep a clean sheet and score more goals.”
