Lawrence: "Lately I Have Felt At The Top Of My Game"

Derby County forward Tom Lawrence is full of confidence at the moment and has paid tribute to manager Phillip Cocu - who he believes has improved his game a lot since his arrival in the summer.

The 26-year-old has been in good form recently after scoring two goals in his last five games, including the winner against Swansea City in the 3-2 victory at the Liberty Stadium earlier this month, which was Derby’s first win away from home since the opening day of the season.

He scored a brace against Huddersfield Town that day and he also netted against the Terriers in the reverse fixture at Pride Park Stadium.

He fired a thunderous strike past Jonas Lossl from distance to give the Rams the lead on the day in a game which finished all-square in a 1-1 draw.

Lawrence has also contributed assists against Swansea and Bristol City in recent weeks and when speaking to RamsTV ahead Saturday's away game against Sheffield Wednesday, he admitted he is enjoying his football at the moment.

“When you are an attacking, you do have spells where you are not quite at it and I think lately I have felt at the top of my game so it just goes like that,” he said.

“In this league, you can’t be at the top of your game every week but you put the effort in and over the last couple of weeks it has worked out well for me.

“I feel like it’s been a positive season for me. We are not in the position we want to be in like we have in previous years but on a personal note, I feel I am playing some good football and hopefully I can get into double figures.”

A lot of his confidence has come from the manager, who has handed him the most minutes in the league out of any other Derby County player this season.

Lawrence has played 2,767 minutes in the league this season during his 31 appearances and the trust from the manager has really helped the forward.

He has scored seven goals, including braces against Huddersfield and Middlesbrough, and also contributed three assists.

“I’ve got on with him really well,” Lawrence admitted. “From the day he has come in he has tried to help me out.

“He has given me freedom on the pitch and tells me what he wants from me and I try and deliver for him. The style of football he wants to play suits my game so it’s good to play under.

“He knows what he wants from each player and we need to deliver that for him now.”