3/1 To Win
Forward Tom Barkhuizen says he’s like ‘a kid at Christmas’ ahead of Derby County’s Sky Bet League One opener this weekend.
The Rams host Oxford United at Pride Park Stadium in their first competitive fixture under new ownership on Saturday (3pm kick-off), after Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd completed their purchase of the club on Friday 1st July, ending a nine-month spell in administration.
It’ll be Derby’s first match in the third tier since 1986, but with a crowd of around 30,000 supporters and 11 new signings made this summer, there’s positivity about getting then new campaign started.
Barkhuizen is one of those new faces at Pride Park Stadium and impressed during pre-season, getting on the scoresheet both home and away.
He netted the second goal in Derby’s 2-0 win at Bradford City in their opening friendly run-out before capping an excellent team move in the 3-1 loss against Leicester City in the Rams’ final home friendly match last weekend.
Ahead of his first competitive fixture in the home dressing room at Pride Park Stadium, the former Preston man caught up with RamsTV to discuss how he’s settled in and to share his thoughts ahead of the season’s curtain raiser.
On Settling In…
I feel like I’ve been here for a couple of years already. I mentioned that to Liam Rosenior a few weeks ago that I feel like I’ve settled in quickly. When you start well, which I feel I have in pre-season, it naturally makes it a bit easier.
I’ve not thought about anything since I signed really, I’ve just tried to be myself and settled in and that’s the same for the other new lads too. The group of boys we’ve got here have been very welcoming. We’re all happy that we’ve joined this club and the more that come through the door the better because we need a big and strong squad this season.
I’ve played against several the boys for years. You get to know them on the pitch, and I mentioned to Craig Forsyth I’m sick of playing against him, so it’ll be nice to play with him this year. The young lads appreciate that we, as the more senior lads, have had decent careers before coming here and we’ve all signed for the right reasons.
We all want to do something special here and they see that as well, they don’t think we’re here for the money or anything else. It’s to get promoted with this team and add that to our CVs.
On Pre-Season Preparations…
We’ve signed a lot of experienced players and because of that, it’s been easier to adjust. A lot of the players who remain here from last year are fairly young and have had a year playing in the way the team does anyway. When experienced players come in, who’ve played in numerous systems under numerous coaches, it’s easier to adjust quickly and that’s what we’ve done.
From the games so far, we don’t look like a team that’s been thrown together. I hope we don’t anyway, because it doesn’t feel like it when we play. I’m enjoying it and have a smile on my face again, which is all that matters to me at the moment.
On The Task Of League One…
We’re a big scalp, I mentioned that when I signed. Some opposition fans won’t be happy that we’re still a club; that’s the way football goes. Others won’t be happy that we’re signing some big players. The Stevenage friendly game summed up what we’ll face in at least half of the matches this season. We know we’ll be up against teams who will sit in and be direct. Teams will try to set traps for us because we’ll try to play football.
It’s going to be tough. We know we’ll have to adapt and it won’t be ‘tippy-tappy’ 5-0 wins every week. It’s going to be a grind, and I mentioned to a few of the boys last week that it’ll be tougher mentally than physically. We’ll be going to grounds that some of the boys have never been to but thankfully as few of us have. It's about making sure we’re in the right mindset and ready to go.
Hopefully, with the fans behind us, home games can take care of themselves but away from Pride Park we’ll need to be especially switched on. We don’t want to go somewhere and dominate but lose 1-0 to a stupid goal because we switched off, so mentally we have to be right and let’s see what we can do.
On Aims For The Season…
Promotion is our expectation. We don’t expect to steamroll the league, but we want to win it. If we don’t go into the season with that mindset, then what’s the point? The play-offs are a lottery and we definitely don’t want to settle for anything outside of them. For me, it’s win the league. Why not? We’ve got some really good players and staff - we’ve got everything we need to be up there.
It comes down to our mental state. If we prepare ourselves properly, which I’m sure the manager will make sure of, then I see no reason we can’t have a good season.
On The Opening Day…
I’m like a kid at Christmas. When I left Preston in the summer, I mentioned it had got stale there and that’s nothing against them. I’d just been there a long time. Now I feel like I’ve got a new lease of life, I’m refreshed mentally and physically.
I’m ready to go and I want to get the season started. I want to be on the scoresheet in games that matter, contribute to this team and experience a really good campaign. We’re going to have a big crowd in at Pride Park, hopefully we can put on a good show. I have high hopes for the season. Let’s see what we can do.
