"We Must Focus On The Job In Hand"

Manager Frank Lampard is focused on the job in hand ahead of the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off First-Leg against Leeds United this weekend.

The Rams head into the first-leg on Saturday in good form after they picked up 14 points from a possible 18 to claim sixth position ahead of both Middlesbrough and Bristol City.

Leeds have, however, beaten the Rams twice this season and finished the season in third position, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion.

It’s set to be an electric atmosphere at a sold out Pride Park Stadium on Saturday and Lampard is fully focused ahead of the game.

“We must focus on the job in hand,” he told RamsTV. “Circuses come with big matches, so that is an achievement by the players and the club to get in the play-offs.

“They must keep their heads down and work, but I think those are the rules of football and particularly in these bigger moments. I have always gone by the mantra of staying humble before these bigger games and respect the opposition going into it.

“What is important is how you prepare yourself to try and get the best performance. That is what myself and the players will be doing.”

Derby only lost one of their final 12 games of the Sky Bet Championship season.

However, the manager was keen to play down current form heading into the crucial play-off fixtures.

“Form doesn’t count going into this,” he admitted. “It feels good for us, the momentum in the way we are playing is good, but again that only counts when you take it out on the pitch in the two games ahead.

“We have to also respect the fact that Leeds finished points ahead of us, were top of the table for half of the season, at least, and went toe-to-toe with Norwich for a long time, and understand that they are a good team.

“They are a team that has been established and building for two or three years and have some really good players. They added to that well in the summer with a strong team and a strong manager.

“People will talk about momentum, teams that finished sixth and got promoted, teams that finished third and not got promoted. It doesn’t mean anything to me. People can analyse it as much as they want.

“I’m pleased we are here and I am delighted with the run that we had to get in the play-offs. There is a slight start again process for us now. That good run got us to where we want to be, now we have two games to navigate to attempt to get to the final.”