3/1 To Win
Martyn Waghorn has stressed Derby County’s players are firmly focused on the task in hand ahead of Friday’s Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round clash at Northampton Town (8pm kick-off).
Derby will take on the in-form Sky Bet League 2 outfit looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches.
Phillip Cocu’s side have won four and drawn two of their last six fixtures following a positive run of form towards the end of 2019 and in the early stages of 2020.
An impressive 1-0 victory at Premier League Crystal Palace in the Third Round set up the tie with the Cobblers, who are managed by former England defender Keith Curle.
Waghorn says the Rams won’t be underestimating their opponents and will approach the cup clash in exactly the same manner as they did for the clash with the Eagles earlier this month.
Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the game, Waghorn said: “We are going there to try and win the game and get through to the next round, so that’s all we can do.
“We made it clear against Crystal Palace that we wanted to do well in this competition, so we will go to Northampton on Friday night with the same expectations and same level of enthusiasm to get through to the next round.
“The FA Cup is one of the greatest cup competitions, coming up against tough opponents on each occasion, and you want to go as far as you can to get into the latter stages.”
Waghorn was the matchwinner when Derby overcame lower-league opposition at the Fourth Round stage 12 months ago.
The striker scored from close range in a 1-0 success at Accrington Stanley in what was an equally tricky encounter.
Derby have to dig deep to reach the Fifth Round and the frontman knows the Rams will have to have the same mentality this time around.
He said: “We know it’s going to be a difficult game, especially as we are going to their place and they are in very good form.
“For us, it’s just about winning the game to keep this run of form going but we know the difficulties ahead of us.
“We are going to go there and give it a good go to get through.”
Waghorn, who is 30 today, has scored eight times in 29 appearances in all competitions for Derby so far this season.
