3/1 To Win
Wayne Rooney says there’s plenty of pride and determination in the Derby County dressing room to end the 2021/22 season on a high note.
Rooney’s side have two matches left to play in the Sky Bet Championship season before the campaign ends at the beginning of May.
Derby will head to Blackpool for their final away fixture of the season on Saturday (3pm kick-off), before hosting Cardiff City at Pride Park Stadium on the final day of the campaign next Saturday (12:30pm kick-off).
Despite the Rams’ relegation to League One, following a 21-point deduction for entering administration and a historical breach of profitability and sustainability rules, Rooney’s side have earned plaudits for their impressive performances and fight on the pitch.
Although Championship safety has eluded Derby, there have been many positives to take away from a challenging campaign because of the well-documented off-field issues.
Rooney wants to bring down the curtain on the season in a positive manner and take the Rams into the summer break, as they prepare for life in the third tier, with a spring in their step.
The Derby boss told RamsTV: “It’s always a tough time when it’s coming to the end of the season and there is nothing really to play for in terms of determining the outcome of the campaign, but we want to end on a high with two good results.
“It’s an opportunity to see a couple of lads in action and it also a chance to get an away win. We are looking forward to Saturday and want to get three points in our last away game.
“There is always a feeling of pride and motivation to go out on the pitch and play for this club and do everything to win. We will prepare right and do everything we can to reward the fans with a win.”
He added: “We will name a strong team for what will be a tough game. There are lads that will come in, but they have been around the first team and played this year so it’s another chance for them.”
Derby will be backed by almost 4,000 away supporters at Bloomfield Road on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams’ faithful have packed the side in large numbers both home and away throughout the campaign and Rooney wants to reward the travelling faithful with a positive away result.
Despite boasting one of the best home records in the Championship, Derby have found wins on the road hard to come by this term - but it hasn’t been for the want of trying.
Rooney said: “It’s amazing to see that, despite being relegated, we sold out our allocation and then sold more tickets on top of that.
“To have that number away from home, it’s incredible. I think the fans realise and appreciate how hard the players have worked all season so it’s great for them to get behind us at Blackpool, like they have done all season. We will do all we can to put on a good performance and try to get the win.”
He added: “We haven’t taken enough points away from home, we know that, and we need to be more ruthless because the team’s performances have been good on our travels.
“That’s where we will have to be more ruthless and score more goals and take advantage of good performances away from home, because we’ve done it at Pride Park.”
