Darren Wassall’s challenge to Derby County Under-23s’ fringe players is a simple one.
‘Make the shirt yours!’
The message comes after three of Wassall’s players – Farrend Rawson, Timi Max Elsnik and Kellan Gordon – all headed out on season-long loan deals to further their first team experience in Sky Bet League 2.
Now, Derby’s academy director wants the club’s young players who are knocking on his door to play regularly for his Under-23s squad to take the bull by the horn, so to speak.
This was also the case last year, when Callum Guy, Charles Vernam and Rawson, again, all headed out on loan.
That opened the door for the likes of Gordon, Alex Babos, Max Bird and Emil Riis Jakobsen – all who took their opportunity by the scruff of the neck and helped the Rams retain their Premier League 2 Division 1 status.
Wassall told RamsTV: “When players do depart and go on loan, it gives those that are substitutes, not in the squad or are in the Under-18s a chance to stake their own claim.
“There will be opportunities for those fringe players to get into the team and prove their worth. It’s an opportunity too for Callum Guy, who has been injured for five months since his return from Port Vale, to get some games under his belt.
“Hopefully, he can carry on from where he left off. There are plenty of chances for the players that are still here.
“We have got a game every week between now and Christmas and have some tough games across a range of different competitions.”
Next up, in the Under-23s’ 2017/18 season, is a trip to Wales to face Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, kick-off: 7pm.
The Swans were promoted as the runaway Division 2 champions last term, but have yet to record a win from their first three Division 1 fixtures.
That’s a situation that Wassall knows all about after his Derby side failed to record a win until the end of September following their own promotion at the end of the 2015/16 campaign.
The 49-year-old says the records show just how difficult the jump up to Division 1 is – even at Under-23 level – but he insists he won’t be taking Monday night’s opponents for granted.
Wassall said: “We have consistently said that there is no easy game at this level.
“It’s a big step up from Division 2 to Division 1 because you are throwing into the mix some of this country’s finest clubs – clubs that consistently play in the Champions League.
“There’s the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur and they have not only got strong resources at first team level, but with their Under-23s too.
“It’s a tough league and we found that last year. It took us a while to acclimatise; even though our performances were decent and we weren’t getting the result that we deserved.
“Maybe Swansea are finding that as well. We won’t be taking them for granted; it will be a tough evening.”
He added: “We’re very pleased that we got that first win against Sunderland before the international break. It was important to get that first three points on the board, particularly having played so well against Arsenal and Chelsea prior to that.
“We feel like we should have more points on the board based on that, but going into the Swansea game on Monday, we are naturally full of confidence.”
