Nugent Highlights Important Festive Period As Rams Aim To Maintain Momentum

David Nugent has challenged Derby County to make the most of a compact festive period as their mission to close the gap on the Sky Bet Championship’s top-two continues to gather pace.

The Rams travel to Hull City off the back of a perfect December, which has seen them claim four wins, score nine goals and record four clean sheets.

Their latest result saw them claim a 3-0 victory over Millwall at Pride Park Stadium before Christmas.

Nugent scored a brace and Matej Vydra notched his 14th goal of the campaign in a lethal six-minute first half spell as the Rams maintained their momentum.

“We go into this Christmas period in top form and confident,” the 32-year-old told RamsTV.

“We didn’t start Saturday’s game as well as we wanted to, but we went on to score the three goals in six minutes and when you have that sort of lead you can’t lose it.

“We put Millwall to the sword before half-time. We all went home happy and after a good Christmas we will be ready to go again on Boxing Day.”

That latest win saw Gary Rowett’s side climb up to third in the Sky Bet Championship table – just three points off the second tier’s automatic promotion positions after Cardiff City were defeated at Bolton Wanderers.

But Nugent has preached the importance of ensuring the Rams’ win over the Lions does not become ‘meaningless.’

“We are pulling away from teams at the moment and if we can carry that on over this Christmas period then that will be vital,” the former England international said.

“We have four games in 12 days now and if we can pick up maximum points that will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.”

That starts with Boxing Day’s trip to the KCOM Stadium.

He added: “The game with Hull is going to be tough. They have had a new manager recently and I feel we can expect a change of form from them very soon.

“I’m sure they will have our 5-0 win over them in the back of their mind too so there could be a sense of revenge on their part.

“We climbed up to third before Christmas and also managed to get to within three points of Cardiff in second too.

“If we don’t back that win up against Millwall against Hull, it will be meaningless. These games are vital, and we have to be prepared to put in good performances and good shifts.”