Max Bird says Derby County’s focus is firmly set on tackling a big week of Sky Bet Championship action.
Derby defeated Reading 2-1 at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday to record their fourth successive league win.
The victory on home turf was their second game behind-closed-doors since the resumption of the season, following a three-month suspension of the campaign due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Phillip Cocu’s side sit three points off the top six with seven games left to play in the campaign.
From those seven games, six of their opponents sit above Derby in the table.
Next up is a trip to Preston North End on Wednesday (5pm kick-off) before welcoming local rivals Nottingham Forest to Pride Park next Saturday (12:30pm kick-off).
Bird says the Rams are relishing the prospect of playing some big fixtures in the coming weeks.
Speaking to RamsTV after the win over Reading, Bird said: “We know we have got some tough games coming up.
“It’s a busy schedule as well so we just need to keep going, rest up and train hard at the same time.
“We need to prepare for games in the right way and we know it’s going to be difficult.”
The 19-year-old added: “We are playing against the top teams in the division but the quality we have in the team is one of the best in the league, we believe, so we’ve got a great chance.”
Academy graduate Bird has been a near ever present in the Derby midfield in the second half of the season, making 20 appearances in all competitions during the campaign.