3/1 To Win
David Nugent admits the next fortnight is going to be an ‘interesting’ period for Derby County’s players.
The 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season is just over two weeks away from kicking off – and places are up for grabs in Gary Rowett’s line-up.
Rowett’s men have a tasty opening day fixture to get the campaign up and running to look forward to as they make the long trip north to take on relegated Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
The Rams have three more pre-season games to play ahead of the game against the Black Cats, starting at 2. Bundesliga side FC Kaiserslautern in Germany on Saturday (22nd July).
Then, once returning to UK soil, they will face Northampton Town next Tuesday (25th July) and then, finally, round off their pre-season programme against German top-flight side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at Pride Park Stadium on 29th July.
Those matches represent three more chances to impress for the squad and Nugent believes the next two weeks are going to see the race for a first-team spot significantly increase.
He told RamsTV: “Pre-season gets a little bit more interesting from this point.
“We travel to Germany on Friday for the game on Saturday and that’ll be a good one for us.
“I think there’s only 20 of us travelling so from this point we’ll start to get an idea of the manager’s plans for the season.
“We’re all looking forward to it and making sure we’re ready for the game at Sunderland on the opening day of the season.”
On the battle for a starting berth in attack, he added: “We have a lot of strikers and forward-thinking players, so we are all vying for a position in the team and it will be interesting come the start of the season.
“It’s all about getting match fit, scoring a few goals and making sure we’re in the manager’s plans in the next few weeks.”
Nugent’s pre-season appearances to date have seen him operate in a deeper role in behind the main striker, mainly in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
He has twice lined up just off Chris Martin, as well once with Darren Bent.
It’s a role the former England international enjoys playing and his brief time in the position, particularly linking up with Martin, has shown some encouraging signs.
He said: “I’ve enjoyed playing in behind Chris and playing off the striker.
“Chrissy is a big lad and he can hold the ball up, so it’s ideal for me when I can run off him.
“I am enjoying it and Chris, as a target man, is what we need in the Championship because it’s a gruelling league.
“I am sure it is a combination that would work perfectly well in the Championship this season.”
Nugent was speaking to RamsTV after playing 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw at Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday.
Getting a full game into the players’ legs was the main priority ahead of kick-off.
After completing their off-season programmes and an intense start to pre-season training, Nugent says the Rams’ players are in a good place fitness-wise.
He said: “After two 45 minute games last week it was important to get 90 minutes in.
“All the lads got through it and that’s pleasing. We had our programmes in the summer and everyone did them, so we came back fit and raring to go.
“To be in our third game of pre-season and play 90 minutes is great; credit to everyone.”
