Nugent Hoping To Pick Up Where He Left Off

From a personal point of view, David Nugent did not want the 2016/17 season to end.

Under Gary Rowett, the 32-year-old ex-England international forward played in eight of the manager’s nine games in charge and scored five goals in the process.

The only game he did miss – Derby County’s 1-1 draw with play-off finalists Huddersfield Town at Pride Park Stadium in April – was due to injury.

That aside, Nugent’s performances have made him a firm favourite with the Rams’ supporters and the man himself says his fine personal end to the season boiled down to him thriving under Rowett’s style of play.

He told RamsTV: “It’s been great for me from a personal point of view. I played in every single game bar one due to injury, but I managed to score five in eight after the manager came to the club.

“His style of play suits mine and I have benefitted from that. I wanted the season to carry on!”

A knee injury sustained on his Derby debut – a 1-0 defeat at Leeds United in January – prevented Nugent from hitting the ground running a lot earlier than he did as he missed three weeks of action.

He did, however, go on to make a further 18 appearances over the second half of the 2016/17 season.

Like the rest of the Derby squad, Nugent is making the most of the close season break by spending time with family.

That said, the forward, who signed for the club from Middlesbrough in the January transfer window, is hoping he can pick up where he left off when the Rams re-group for pre-season towards the end of June.

He added: “I got injured my first game for the club and in the end I was out for a few weeks.

“That set me back a little bit further than it usually would because I hadn’t been playing at Middlesbrough and then when I did get my chance, it was just a shame it came when the team was struggling.

“That was pretty tough. I played all but one of the games under the new manager, though, and I felt match fit, I felt sharp and was scoring goals. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off next season.”