Defender Andre Wisdom has praised the character in the Derby County dressing room following the side’s back-to-back wins ahead of this weekend’s Sky Bet Championship game against Bristol City.
The Rams beat AFC Bournemouth 1-0 at Pride Park Stadium following Krystian Bielik’s second goal of the season, whilst last weekend Colin Kazim-Richards’ only goal at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium earned Derby a valuable three points against Queens Park Rangers.
It was the first time this season that Derby had managed to record successive victories in the league and it was much-needed too as the results moved the Rams out of the division’s relegation places.
Derby also boast one of the best defensive records in the league over the last 12 games, having kept seven clean sheets and conceded only five goals.
That form has been based on being solid at the back, and one of the key men in recent weeks has been defender Wisdom.
The 27-year-old, who has featured 23 times for the Rams so far this season, believes a large part of that recent success has been down to the character and camaraderie in the dressing room.
“We have got a young team, but we have got some experienced lads and I am one of them now,” he told RamsTV. “We have to continue and keep pushing. We know what the league is like and everyone is a competitor to challenge.
“Anyone can go down or go up, so every point means so much. We have to fight for anything we can get. If it’s at home or away, we have to play the game however it presents itself to us.
“We do ‘old against young’ in training and when you aren’t on the young team anymore, you’re old! That’s the moment I realised I’m starting to knock on a little bit.
“I think we are a good group, everyone chips in with speaking and taking a bit of leadership and ownership on the pitch and off the pitch; it’s a good collective to have.
“It’s not just one individual person taking it on the front and everybody does help out which is good. It’s good if people feel they can come to me, or if I can lead by example, I try my best.”
Another player who leads by example is striker Kazim-Richards, who was brought to the club on a free transfer at the start of the season.
The Turkish international is the club’s top goalscorer so far this season with four goals and Wisdom believes he has been a positive influence on the squad.
“He is a character, a really good character,” he said. “He brings so much to the team both on the pitch and off the pitch. He is a good guy and gets on with everyone.
“All in all, he is great and what he’s been doing for us on the pitch has been vital. He is strong, athletic, holds the ball up, sets the press from the front and it transcends through the whole team.
“I think we have just got to keep trying to get the best out of him and play to his strengths, like we do with every other player.”
