3/1 To Win
Striker Jerry Yates says Derby County are looking to thrive under the pressure provided with five games to go in the 2024/25 season Sky Bet Championship - starting with an away trip to Portsmouth on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
A full-hearted display against Burnley earned the Rams a point at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday night, with John Eustace’s side securing a 0-0 draw after they saw a four-game winning run come to an end in a 1-0 loss at Swansea City last weekend.
Fratton Park will be the venue for the Rams on Saturday, as they look to continue their momentum against last season's League One champions and claw further away from the bottom three.
Yates caught up with RamsTV before Saturday’s clash with Pompey.
On the point gained against Burnley on Tuesday night…
It was always going to be a tough game; they were top of the league before the fixture. I thought that, definitely in the second half, we could have nicked it and we had the better of the chances. It wasn't to be on the night, but it was a tough game and we got a point out of it.
For the last few weeks, we've had the same mindset in every game. We've got to go out there and we've got to go battle. Every game from now to the end of the season has got to be like that. I'd say we're looking forward to it.
On the importance of providing a response following the loss against Swansea...
I don't think it [a 1-0 loss] was deserved against Swansea, but I'd say you've got to be in full concentration for 90 minutes. We lacked that when they scored. It may have humbled us a little bit and made us realise that the job's nowhere near done yet. It might be what we needed at the time. We got back to the drawing board and battled hard, and got our point against Burnley.
Every lad in the changing room, I think they are all relishing it. I'm certainly excited for it. I'm sure everyone else in that dressing room will be as well. We just can't wait to get the games going.
On facing Portsmouth and relishing the pressure at the business end of the season…
It's going to be rocking down there. Both sets of fans are going to be there and it's going to be packed out. It's a huge game for us and we've got to go there and stamp our authority on the game.
We know it's going to be a tough match against a challenging team who are in a similar predicament to us. We need to go there and show similar characteristics to what we have shown in the past few games.
