3/1 To Win
Central defender Matt Clarke believes there is no time to wallow in self pity as Derby County face Brentford in the Sky Bet Championship on Tuesday night (7pm kick-off).
The Rams have endured somewhat of a sticky patch of late after previously winning six games out of eight between January and February.
Wayne Rooney’s side are currently five games without a win and have failed to find the net in four of those encounters.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Millwall at Pride Park Stadium sees the Rams sit 19th in the league standings, seven points ahead of Rotherham who occupy the final relegation spot.
Next up is the visit of high-flying Brentford, who once again find themselves in the upper echelons of the table having missed out on promotion last season in the Play-Off Final.
Clarke, who is on-loan from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion for a second successive season, knows that now is not the time to panic.
“There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves,” he told RamsTV. “You can’t come in feeling sorry for yourself and making excuses; you have to dust yourself down and go again.
“You have to learn from the games that have gone; this is another challenge and we have to face up to that.
“Brentford, for the last few years, have sort of set the standard in the league and they have probably been the best side that hasn’t gone up.
“It is another tough test for us but it is a game we feel that, if we get things right, we can go and win.”
Some of the Rams’ best results this season, however, have come against the in-form teams in the division.
A 1-0 win away at Norwich City in October kick-started Derby’s season, whilst wins at home to Swansea City and AFC Bournemouth either side of the New Year were valuable.
The Rams earned a point on the road against Brentford earlier in the season, too, in a 0-0 draw.
Asked why Derby perform well against the top sides, Clarke replied: “It is tough to put your finger on exactly what it is, but ultimately as a side we are better when the games are tighter.
“The longer we keep the game at 0-0 and the longer we stay in the game, the better we are. That has been important to us, to not be chasing, to keep the door shut for as long as possible is a good thing for us.”
He added: “Our previous game against Brentford was in December and we have evolved and moved on from it.
“We have to look at it as a fresh game, but ultimately you try and pick up little bits from the previous meetings and we will go into Tuesday’s game knowing if we do our jobs and the things we have been doing well then we will give ourselves a great chance to get a positive result.”
The defender passed a personal landmark recently, reaching 250 career appearances in club football.
After starting his career with Ipswich Town, he enjoyed a fruitful spell with Portsmouth before joining Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2019.
Although he is yet to feature for his parent club, he has been a consistent figure on loan for Derby over the past two years and he was pleased to reach the milestone.
“It is a good sign, especially as a centre-half as many don’t start playing regularly until they are a little bit older but for me, my path has been learning through experience and through playing and I have played quite a bit now,” he admitted.
“It is a good milestone, but it is just the start and that is the way I have to look at it.”
