3/1 To Win
Wayne Rooney believes his Derby County players will need to produce a ‘disciplined’ display against Reading on Wednesday night.
Derby will face the Royals under the Pride Park Stadium floodlights in their first home midweek league fixture of the 2021/22 campaign (7:45pm kick-off).
In the first of two home games this week, with Swansea City the visitors on Saturday, Rooney’s side will take on the Royals as they look to bounce back from the narrow and cruel 1-0 loss at Sheffield United on Saturday.
Derby, after formally entering administration last week and as a result deducted 12 points by the EFL, sit at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table on minus two points.
Rooney and his squad, however, are trying to place their focus firmly on matters on the pitch and the Rams’ boss is expecting a difficult encounter against the Royals.
“It will be a very difficult game,” Rooney said when speaking to RamsTV. “They are quite a fluid team in possession and there are no real patterns to how they play.
“Players turn up in various positions on the pitch, so we will have to be disciplined in how we approach things.
“We will have to use the fans inside the stadium with the atmosphere they will create for us. We will try and press them at the right times and put them under pressure.”
He added: “We were disappointed to lose on Saturday at Sheffield United, but we will dust ourselves down and be ready for a big game against Reading.”
Rooney has heaped praise on his backroom team, playing squad and the supporters for the way they’ve handled a difficult period for the club.
The staff and players have put all their efforts into producing good performances and results on the pitch, while the Derby crowd have shown their support in both numbers and vocally.
“The players and staff deserve a huge amount of praise and credit in terms of their application,” Rooney said.
“That is not just on the pitch but off it as well. They have been excellent around the training ground with all the staff so I couldn’t praise them any more than I am doing because they deserve it.
“Hopefully they get the results which they deserve as well.”
He added: “The fans have been excellent all season, especially over the last two weeks with everything going on around the place.
“The deserve praise too, not just from myself but from the players as well. They will be a big part of the season for us so I’m sure they will be right behind us.”
