Steven Davies hopes a settled family life will lead to a more settled campaign on the pitch for Derby County next season.

Davies' second season in Derby colours was blighted by injury, restricting him to just nine starts in all competitions.

The 22-year-old married his long-term partner Sasha last weekend and he is desperate to put his two injury-hit seasons at Derby behind him.

And he believes settling down could be just one of the factors in him becoming a much more regular feature in Nigel Clough's side next season.

He told Rams Player: "It is a big summer for me really, on all fronts.

"A more settled family life can only help my football; my wife and little girl are with me now in Derby.

"When I first joined I was living on my own and was quite bored, so hopefully I will reap the benefits of having a settled family life."

Davies admits his season can only be summed up in one word - frustration.

He is fully aware he needs to get a good pre-season behind him to prepare him for the rigours of another gruelling campaign.

"It has - once again - been a season of pure frustration," he said.

"I had a good pre-season and things were looking promising, but I got a hamstring niggle at Rotherham in my hamstring and in my first game back I injured my ankle against Plymouth.

"It has been another one of those seasons, and I've had three or four on the spin which needs to come to an end.

"I'll come back a week or two earlier than the rest of the lads for pre-season, purely because of the amount of football I've missed.

"I'll settle down this summer, get a lot of rest and come back ready to go for pre-season training.

"What fitness I need more than anything is match fitness; I've not had that for a while because I've not played enough games.

"Once I get that, I know I'll be fine."

Watch Steven's exclusive interview on Rams Player right now.