Derby County midfielder Max Bird says the side are 'going to keep pushing' over the festive period as they look to continue their impressive run of form.
The Rams have won six and drawn one of their last seven games in Sky Bet League One but Bird knows the Christmas fixtures will pose the toughest challenges to date with Wigan Athletic and Oxford United on the road and Peterborough United at Pride Park Stadium on the fixture list.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Wigan, the midfielder reflected on the season so far and looked ahead to the first of three games in seven days.
On the season so far...
Results wise, it's been really good. We've won six out of the last seven and we're unfortunate not to have won seven out of the last seven. Results have been good but performances not so good. We've got a tricky period coming up now and hopefully we can up our performances and keep the results going as they are.
On what they haven't been happy with about the performances...
As a group, we demand a lot from each other and the management and staff do as well. It's a case of just putting performances together back-to-back. Results have been good but we need to up our performances and be in positions where we can go to places that are tricky and pick up points. It's about going into training, looking at where we can be better in games and going from there.
On the turning point of the season...
I don't think I can name one off the top of my head. I can't put my finger on where it clicked but the team morale has been really good recently and we're in a good position. We've got a tricky few games coming up and it will show where we really stand in the table. With the win the other night against Lincoln City, we're in a good position but we know we've got a couple more gears in us.
On the next three games over Christmas...
We know we've got a top group of players here and we demand a lot from each other and, like I said, we've got a couple more gears in us. We're going to keep pushing, trying to pick up results and if we can pick up more points and put in some better performances over the next few matches then it will make a big difference.
On his own personal season so far...
It's been OK. I'm very self-critical of myself. I had my injury early on, came back and felt really good but there's been games recently where I've not been too pleased with my performances. There are little things that I watch back and think 'this needs to be better' and things like that but I've also learned to pick out good things as well and not just focus on things I need to improve on. I'm playing in a different role this season which I'm enjoying but I do demand a lot from myself and there's a few lads in the dressing room like that.
On whether he enjoys the festive period...
I prefer it when we have game after game after game, I think it's brilliant. We have to sacrifice some things around Christmas time as players but hopefully it will be worth it and we can put on a show and entertain the fans over these next three festive games.
