3/1 To Win
Liam Rosenior says Derby County’s players will need to produce another display full of character when they face Barnsley on Wednesday evening (7:45pm kick-off).
Derby will make the journey up the M1 to take on Daniel Stendel’s side off the back of recording their first home win of the campaign at the weekend.
Phillip Cocu’s side claimed all three points in a pulsating encounter against Birmingham City at Pride Park on Saturday, following a tough week for the club off the pitch.
Goals from Chris Martin, Martyn Waghorn and Jamie Paterson secured a 3-2 victory against the Blues in a performance full of spirit and desire.
Barnsley, promoted automatically from League 1 last term, began the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Fulham at Oakwell but have since recorded two draws and six defeats.
Derby will go into the game unbeaten in three since the first international break of the season, claiming five points in the process.
Rosenior, who joined Cocu’s coaching staff in the summer in the position of Specialist First Team Coach, has stressed the importance of standing up to be counted in South Yorkshire.
He told RamsTV: “We want to see more of the character that was on display at the weekend and, as you’d expect, the mood has been good on the training ground off the back of a win.
“I watched Barnsley’s game against Brentford on Sunday afternoon. They started it really well, with a high tempo and a lot of energy which resulted in an early goal.
“Going away from home, we will need to stand up to that. We will have to show the spirit and togetherness that we saw on Saturday at Oakwell.”
He added: “We can talk about playing styles and football, but we will have to stand up and be counted. Then it’s about trying to make our quality overcome theirs and be confident.”
Derby had picked up three draws and a defeat from their first four home matches of the season prior to Saturday.
In a topsy-turvy clash, the Rams had gone two goals to the good just after half-time before Birmingham got back level before the interval.
Goalkeeper Kelle Roos then saved a penalty from Lukas Jutkiewicz before Paterson grabbed the winner soon afterwards.
Rosenior was also keen to praise the impact of Derby’s players off the bench as they turned the tide back in their favour.
He said: “The main emotion at the end of the game on Saturday was one of relief after how the game had unfolded.
“We were two goals up and in control, before being pegged back to 2-2 very quickly. I think the players showed fantastic character on the pitch to go and get the third goal and ultimately the win.
“When any team scores twice in the space of couple of minutes, they’re going to have the upper hand and Birmingham had that after the hour mark. We knew we had to stem the flow and get some control back, and we managed to do that.
“We made a couple of changes by bringing on Jack Marriott and Jayden Bogle, and it was great to see them both involved in the winning goal. As a coaching staff, it’s nice to see those changes pay off.
“We saw it from Chris Martin at Leeds as well and that’s what you want from your substitutes. It’s all well and good making the decisions as a coaching team; you need the players to carry it off.”
He added: “I think the win at home was long overdue. Our performances at home deserved a bit more, but we had been up against some very good Championship teams.
“We’re pleased to have broken the duck, so to speak, and hopefully it’s the first of many for us. I am sure we will see a general increase in performance as the season goes on. It takes time and we haven’t, as a staff, been here too long as it’s just under three months.
“We are trying to give everything to be successful not only in the short-term, but also the long-term as well and I am confident with this process we will see consistent results.”
