3/1 To Win
Derby County’s Interim Manager Liam Rosenior says he has been pleased with the start his side have made to their 2022/23 Sky Bet League One campaign as they prepare for the trip to face Fleetwood Town on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off).
Derby have picked up seven points from their opening four games of the season so far and head into their clash against the Cod Army looking for their first away victory in the league this term.
The Rams were forced to settle for a point against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night despite dominating the 0-0 draw for large parts.
Rosenior spoke to RamsTV about his reflections on Tuesday’s draw, whilst he also gave an update on the first team squad, who face a gruelling fixtures schedule in the weeks to come.
On The Squad…
Everyone is doing really well. Like I’ve said a lot, we’ve had to tailor individually how we work and a lot of the players that started on Tuesday night were inside today recovering to get ready to go for another difficult game on Saturday at Fleetwood Town. It was a really good opportunity to bring up the Under-21s to train with us and that’s something I will do throughout the season. It’s making sure that we work together, we are all aligned and I can see the Under-21s in action too. It was a good session, we got what we needed out of it, and the players who were on the bench on Tuesday or came on trained as well so they are getting their minutes as well. David McGoldrick was fantastic in training and he needs those sessions, so we worked really well and it puts us in a good place for Saturday.
On The Academy Players Training With Senior Players…
We had Korey Smith out there telling the players where they needed to be and what they had to do, so I want that here. I want the culture where you are learning from the players you are playing with as well as the coaches and I want the players in the Under-21s to feel like if they do well then there is a chance for them. That is the way I worked with Wayne Rooney last year and that’s the way I will continue to learn. We are working collaboratively and that’s the way it has to be to build this club back to where it should be. In terms of the Under-21s recruitment, is important to make sure we get that side of it right as well.
On The Fixture Schedule…
I think every manager would want extra time on the training pitch with their squad, but at the same time there is nothing better than playing games of football. What makes you less tired is winning matches so if I played ‘Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday’ in my career and we were in a period where we were winning, that tiredness evaporates. We just need to try and get the best results we can in this period and that will help us psychologically; you have more energy in your legs. We are in a really good place. I’m delighted with the start to the season. If we win on Saturday, then we would have ten points from our opening five games and that’s the benchmark for promotion and that’s what we’re aiming for.
On Haydon Roberts’ Form…
He’s got a lot more to learn and a long way to go but that’s the exciting part because everyone can see his potential. I think he’s an outstanding defender, he’s aggressive and a great athlete. He’s got a great left foot and he is a lad I’ve known for a long time. I’ve got a good connection with him and I think I can help him develop into the player he wants to be because he’s got all the potential to play at the very top.
He suits the system perfectly. He’s played a lot at centre back for Brighton but in my time working with him in the Under-16s and Under-18s down there, he was playing left back and in midfield, as well as centre back at times. The system that we play, I want players comfortable with the ball in every area of the pitch. I think you see with Jason Knight’s progression; he is playing right back without the ball but with the ball, he’s playing a different position so that’s why it’s working for him. Haydon suits that role down to the ground too.
On The Shrewsbury Town Draw On Tuesday…
I’m frustrated with the result. I was happy with 80% of the aspect of our play but it’s just that 20% we need to improve on. We’ve gone over that this morning with the team. That possession and style of play, you end up not having to defend but at the end of it you need more penetration in the final third. That’s not down to the style of play, that’s down to the fact we’ve only worked together for a short period of time. I had a positive meeting with the players today about turning the possession into goals and I have no doubt that will come. All of a sudden you have a complete way of playing the game. I was surprised on Tuesday because I thought it would be a more physical game and I didn’t expect us to have the control we did as early into the game but that’s credit to the players. We are ahead of schedule, so we took all of their strengths away from them. They wanted to press and they realised early that they couldn’t so they sat back and defended for 99% of the game. That’s credit to the players because that’s how much teams have respect for us. It’s up to us to break that down.
