Darren Wassall has backed his Derby County Under-23s side to change their fortunes sooner rather than later ahead of Friday night’s meeting with Sunderland.
The Rams are without a win from the first two Premier League 2 Division 1 matches after falling to a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal at St George’s Park and a 2-0 loss to Chelsea a week ago at Stamford Bridge.
Wassall, Derby’s academy director, says his players can count themselves unfortunate not to have got off the mark already.
Particularly against Arsenal, his side created a number of clear scoring chances and led 2-0 before a resurgent Arsenal, who contained the likes of Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Francis Coquelin, fought back to win 3-2.
And after drawing comparisons with his side’s start over the last two years, Wassall says his players will have nothing to worry about if they continue to perform to the level they are doing.
He told RamsTV: “We’re in the top league and we know that we couldn’t have a much more difficult start than Arsenal and Chelsea.
“Our start has been quite similar over the last few seasons. I remember two years ago, we played Arsenal and Aston Villa and lost both of those too despite playing exceptionally well and creating a hatful chances.
“It’s been a similar story so far. Particularly against Arsenal, I can’t remember us creating as many chances as that in a game and not won or, at least, drawn it in my eight years here at the club.
“Nevertheless, there were a lot of positives. We always say here that if you are creating chances and playing well then it’s important not to worry too much.
“We know if we keep doing those things then our fortunes will change. The time to worry is when you are not playing well, you are deservedly getting beaten and you can’t see where your next win is going to come from.
“That’s not the case here, we are pleased with a lot of the individual performances and the team ethic as a whole.”
On to game number three, Wassall feels there is no better place for his squad to get off the mark than Pride Park Stadium.
The Rams host Sunderland at the club’s main stadium tomorrow night with kick-off scheduled for 7pm.
Wassall added: “Last week, we played at Stamford Bridge and that was a great experience for a lot of our young players in terms of bridging that gap between the first team and the Under-23s.
“We learned a lot from that. We have been banging the drum for a long time now about playing as many games as possible at Pride Park Stadium and it’s great that is being taken on board too.
“The club have supported us magnificently over the last few years and even more so this year. With this being the first one, naturally, the players are looking forward to it.
“They are in fine fettle, in good spirits and they are determined to get their first points on the board.”
