Wassall’s Pride

Academy Manager Darren Wassall 'so proud' after Derby's FA Youth Cup win over Manchester City.

Academy Manager Darren Wassall was unable to hide his pride and delight after seeing Derby County’s Under 18s reach the quarter finals of the FA Youth Cup on Tuesday night.

After seeing off Gateshead and Ipswich Town in Rounds Three and Four, Derby came up trumps once again by dumping Premier League Manchester City out of the competition.

The Rams ran out 2-0 winners at Pride Park thanks to goals from Adam Wixted and Jamie Hanson and Wassall was, understandably, beaming with delight at how his players stepped up to the plate to pull off a memorable scalp.

A home tie against Chelsea awaits Derby in the next round and Wassall says the performance of his side was ‘exceptional’.

He told Rams Player: “We’re delighted and thrilled with the lads because their performance was exceptional from the first minute to the last, and they’ve done Derby County proud.

“Manchester City have some extremely talented players in their squad, signed from the likes of Real Madrid and Benfica, so to come out on top over the 90 minutes is fantastic for everyone connected with the Club.

“The attitude, application, desire and character of the players was superb and we’re really proud of them.

“We defended well and as a team, and crucially we took our chances at key times.

“We’ve had some great results in the past, scoring six at Middlesbrough in the league and defeating Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup last season, but this result is probably up there with the best result we’ve had since we joined in 2009.”

Wassall highlighted the Rams’ determination to not be overawed by their big-spending opponents as one of the key ingredients in the victory, and he was also quick to highlight the desire of his side to pull off a memorable FA Youth Cup upset.

He said: “We didn’t give them a minute’s peace and that was key, and that just goes to show ability alone won’t win you games.

“You need to have that desire and application, which is what we stand for at Derby County, from the Academy right the way through the Club, and those ethics were there for all to see out on the pitch.

“When we got on the ball our ability shone through and in all fairness, they didn’t really test Ross Etheridge in our goal – and that’s a credit to the lads for the way they went about their business.

“The goal just after half-time was crucial in how the game panned out, it gave us a real lift as we sensed if we could get ahead we would go on to win the game.”

Manager Nigel Clough and his entire first-team squad were in attendance to watch the game, all of whom were quick to head down to the dressing room post-match to offer their congratulations afterwards – as did Chief Executive Sam Rush.

Wassall says the togetherness surrounding Derby’s first-team and youth squads is ‘special’, and he said: “It sums up the manager and the camaraderie of Derby County, from the Academy to the first-team as both staff and players, that they were all here watching.

“The first-team actually put their training schedule back so they could train in the afternoon and then come to Pride Park at night, and they were in the dressing room wishing the lads well and then part of the celebrations afterwards.

“It’s fantastic and brilliant for the players in the Academy that the people above them and those they look up to, are so interested in their development.

“That doesn’t happy at many clubs and it’s a special thing, which we don’t take for granted.”

Looking ahead to the Chelsea tie, Wassall concluded: “It’s another tough one, but we’re looking forward to it already – especially as it’ll be at Pride Park again!”

Watch Darren Wassall’s full post-match interview on Rams Player.