3/1 To Win
Corey Blackett-Taylor says the Derby County squad are ‘relishing’ the upcoming 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship season ahead of their penultimate pre-season friendly against Barnsley on Wednesday night (7:45pm kick-off).
Blackett-Taylor was singled out for praise by Head Coach Paul Warne for his shift at wing-back in the Rams’ last friendly against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
The Derby attacker spoke with RamsTV ahead of Wednesday’s clash with the Tykes at Oakwell to discuss his progress since joining from Charlton Athletic in January, the feeling ahead of the new campaign and stepping up a gear in the final two pre-season fixtures against Barnsley and Spanish side Real Valladolid on Saturday.
On entering the new Championship season next month…
All of us as a group wanted to, obviously, get promoted last season and play in the Championship. We're just relishing it, really. We've got a good group here. I think everyone's as excited as I am.
On his first pre-season with Derby…
It has been tough. The training camp in Spain was good, it was nice to get with the group and stuff like that. I enjoyed it and the gaffer has demanded a lot from us. I feel now that we're back from Spain, I'm starting to feel better within myself and I'm definitely feeling fitter and sharper.
The heat was very tough out there. We were training in the day when it was peak heat so it was a challenge. We've all said as a group, now that we're back, we're starting to reap the benefits of it.
On having a good pre-season…
Throughout my career, I think I've always benefited from having a good pre-season. I feel like this one's been no different. I was very excited to have a pre-season here because I know what the gaffer wants. I know that I'll go into the season feeling sharp and that's what I'm hoping to do.
On approaching the final two pre-season friendlies…
We obviously want to step it up from the last couple of games and we're looking forward to it. I'm definitely looking forward to it myself. Barnsley are a good team. We played them last season and it'll be a good test.
