Five Things We Learnt From Derby’s Pre-Season

Derby County’s pre-season games programme is over and the big kick-off is closing in.

The Rams will get the new campaign off and running with a long trip north to Sunderland on Friday night to take on Simon Grayson’s side at the Stadium of Light (7:45pm).

After seven pre-season games in total, dcfc.co.uk has assessed five key talking points to come away from the build-up to the new campaign.

Rams Looking Fit And Sharp

Make no bones about it, coming through pre-season with limited injuries will have come as a real relief to Gary Rowett. After two weeks of gruelling pre-season training, Derby moved into match situations and saw preparations for the upcoming campaign cranked up a notch. Much has been made of the players’ post-season fitness plans and uploading their data on a regular basis while they were on their summer holidays, but few can argue the squad look fit and physically strong. That was backed up when a large number of the squad came through 90 minutes in just their third pre-season game – with one group heading to Port Vale and another to Doncaster Rovers. Rowett has made the point on several occasions that he is happy with the fitness of his players, as well as their sharpness, which has improved with each game. George Thorne, Jason Shackell and Max Lowe were all sidelined when Rowett arrived in March and, otherwise, the only player not available at this time is striker Darren Bent with a long-term hamstring injury sustained last month.

Creating Chances And Keeping It Tight

While a great deal of focus is on performances and formations at this time of the year, we’ve moved the spotlight away from those particular areas! Two encouraging factors to take away from pre-season are Derby’s ability to create chances in attacking areas – and keeping it tight at the back. The Rams scored 11 in seven matches but Rowett has made it clear that total should have been higher, conceding his side need to be more ruthless in the final third. Pleasingly, Derby conceded just four goals in pre-season and produced some solid defensive displays and limited the opposition to limited chances. If that sort of form can be taken into the new season, Rowett will be a very happy man.

New Signings Strong And Shrewd Additions

Gary Rowett has been busy in the transfer market this summer – bringing in three players and seeing four head out of the exit door – and he admits there’s still business to be done before the transfer window shuts at the end of August. The vastly experienced Curtis Davies has settled into life in central defence with consummate ease, right-back Andre Wisdom looks like he’s never been away following a successful loan spell in 2013/14 and Tom Huddlestone has slotted into the midfield and quickly displayed the passing qualities which saw him playing for England not so long ago. As well as being shrewd additions the trio also add more strength and height to the Rams’ side, which looks to be an area Rowett has been keen to address this summer.

Forsyth’s Comeback A Big Boost

Craig Forysth is due a slice of luck and there was no better sight then seeing him back on the pitch during pre-season. The popular - and at times understated – Scotsman has been hugely missed for the majority of the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons following two separate anterior cruciate ligament injuries. A new campaign is viewed as a fresh start and Forsyth will be hoping his injury frustration is consigned to the past. Playing at centre-half in his comeback game at Kidderminster, he threw himself into a couple of crunching challenges to test the knee out – and came through the opening 45 minutes with flying colours. He has since added more minutes under his belt in his customary left-back slot and his comeback is a major boost for Derby. Gary Rowett described him after the opening pre-season friendly at Kidderminster Harriers as ‘a top-quality player’. High praise indeed.

Returning Loanees Have Parts To Play

Chris Martin and Andreas Weimann are two players - amongst others – to have caught the eye during pre-season after returning from spells out on loan last season. Striker Martin, who was Derby’s leading marksman in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16, is back from a season-long loan at Fulham last term and with two goals in pre-season, he has made a strong case to be in the starting line-up at Sunderland. Attacker Weimann found first-team opportunities limited last season and joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for the second half of the campaign, but has produced some impressive displays in the last few weeks and set up both goals in the 2-0 win at Kaiserslautern. Both players look invigorated by a fresh start and appear determined to make the most of the opportunity.