3/1 To Win
Derby County Head Coach Paul Warne says preparations for the 2023/24 campaign are in full flow.
The Rams' squad will return to Moor Farm at the end of the month to begin their pre-season programme and Warne is hoping to have a few new faces among the familiar ones when they report for duty at the end of June.
Speaking to RamsTV, the Head Coach provided an in-depth update on where the club are currently at in regards to the transfer window, gave his thoughts on the departure of David McGoldrick to Notts County last week and looked ahead to pre-season getting underway.
On what his days look like at the moment...
It is busy at the moment. I'm constantly on the phone as every manager is and I appreciate from a fans point of view it doesn't look like much is happening, but it's very busy.
Today I've got a FaceTime call with an attacking player, a meeting with the recruitment team to go through our targets and where we're at with them, because it changes quite a lot. I'm meeting a player in person, having another FaceTime with another attacking player and then I'll see the owner on the way home - and the whole thing will start again tomorrow!
Other things are going on, if potential offers come in for our players. I know I can't say too much but we're very close to a few signings.
On David McGoldrick moving on...
I'm sorry to see him go. Since January I was trying to encourage him to sign a contract but he always wanted to get to the summer and see where he was at - at one stage I wasn't even sure he was going to continue playing.
He had an amazing season and I wanted to keep him. We had a meeting at the training ground a few weeks ago and he still wanted more time to think about it. We had to put a deadline on it because it wasn't fair on either club.
It wasn't a financial thing, it was a spiritual thing. He wanted to play for his boyhood club. He always wanted to end his career at Notts County and always wanted to play there whilst he still had something left.
It is with a massive heavy heart he's left and he will be missed but I also respect the fact that footballers get accused all the time for chasing the money and that wasn't the case at all for him. It wasn't an easy decision and he just has to live his life and do what's best for him and his family.
The lads will miss him, no doubt, but it's about building a new team with new players and having a right go this year.
On his conversations with transfer targets...
It's quite an easy club to sign players at in this league but we're trying to sign players that don't want to play in this league, if that makes sense. We need the players that can play in the league above and have got a bit of experience.
The pitches are in amazing order, the training ground is fantastic, there's 30,000 people watching you every week and we have a good skeleton of a team already - so it's not a difficult sell.
Not every signing will be bang on the money but you've just got to try and filter them out. I want the players that will make big sacrifices and are fully determined for success.
When we speak to them we show them things and how we think they can improve. We need players that are prepared to learn and believe in the team more than themselves.
It's easy to sign players. I could have signed eight players already that could have potentially improved us but it's about getting the very best that we can.
I reckon we'll probably get around five in before the start of pre-season that will bolster our numbers and improve our team and then it's about adding to it as pre-season goes on.
There's loads going on and it's just about getting the right player at the right price for us.
On being linked to numerous players...
We've got to try and sign players that are good people and I get hammered for saying that but if they want to come and work for this great club, they have to be good people.
They have to be good footballers, good athletes and they have to buy into the way we play, the way we press and the energy we want from a team.
Also and this is a lot different to a lot of teams in our league - they have to be able to play in front of 30,000 people. If you're used to playing in front of 5,000 people every week and you're the big fish in a small pond - can you do it in front of 30,000 supporters?
We get linked to loads of players but we have to try and get them right because once you sign someone on a two or three year deal and you don't get it right, you are causing yourself problems.
We won't run a big squad, we might have around 20-22 players, so we have to try and get everything right.
I understand why we get linked to loads of players and I understand why it's frustrating for fans when we don't sign players but if we signed seven or eight players today - what are you going to do for the next few weeks and talk about? You might as well enjoy the next few weeks and all that pre-season brings with it!
On the upcoming pre-season...
Most of the players have been pestered by me for the most of the break anyway.
There's a physicality to pre-season, there is at every football club, and we're no different.
It's a psychology more than a physicality for me. I'm not here to break players but I am here to push boundaries and to try and get more out of the team.
We're trying to make them physically resilient for a 10 month season but a lot of that comes from mentality. For example, the last minute goal at Port Vale in January wasn't because we were physically fitter than then but we were maybe just mentally stronger at that time. You need a group of mentally fierce competitors who are prepared to do anything to win.
When we go abroad for pre-season camp, most of the work gets done there. It's not about trying to break people, it's trying to build people.
Pre-season is a good time to build physical and mental and tactical and that's what I like. I love pre-season camp because the lads can't go anywhere and they don't have to rush home to pick their kids up from school or go and sit on the PlayStation. We have them!
We train them first thing, we run, we work hard, we have meetings and we have fun. We have loads of things that I thoroughly love.
From that, hopefully you can build a squad and a team that are exciting to watch. I love this time of year. It's the best time of year to be a manager.
