3/1 To Win
Gary Rowett says Derby County need to ‘step on the gas’ ahead of back-to-back home games.
Derby take on Brentford at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off) before facing Norwich City seven days later, also on home turf.
Rowett’s side occupy second place in the Sky Bet Championship table with 17 games remaining.
January saw the Rams claim three draws and a victory from their four league fixtures, conceding just once, and retain their place in the division’s promotion race.
Rowett accepts with the games ticking down, as well as teams being on Derby’s coattails, that there’s a pressure to win every game – and it’s one he believes his side should embrace.
He wants his side to make the most of home advantage during the next week with the Rams’ faithful firmly behind the side.
“Whoever we play at the moment there’s a pressure on us to win the game,” he told RamsTV.
“In the last two games against Bristol City and Millwall, from a decision point of view by the officials, we could have won both. Everyone is frustrated because of the scenario but we drew both games and didn’t lose.
“There’s pressure on every game now because of where we are and we accept that.
“Overall, to lose two games in 22 is a fantastic run of form. I won’t label it as an achievement but it has been a fantastic run.
“We want to try and step on the gas at home now and try and get the wins that we want, especially with back-to-back games against Brentford and then Norwich.”
Derby were held to a 1-1 draw at Brentford back in September.
Midfielder Joe Ledley scored on his debut but the hosts hit back late on through Ollie Watkins to earn a share of the spoils.
The clash at Griffin Park was the first of Derby’s eleven-match unbeaten run on their travels and the Rams’ boss believes that statistic shows the strong mentality within the dressing room.
“The Brentford game was sort of a catalyst for our away form turning around,” he said.
“We didn’t have too much possession on the night. We had to grind it out and we almost won the game after making it very difficult for Brentford, but they equalised with five minutes to go to one of the few chances that they created.
“The away form is very good and it is a fantastic display of where this team is mentally. To go away and keep churning out results in this league is impressive.”
Rowett has a near fully-fit squad to choose from with only goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell (finger) sidelined.
New signing Kasey Palmer could feature in the squad after arriving on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, while Bradley Johnson is back in full training following a lay-off with a back injury.
Rowett said: “We will pretty much have everyone available for the weekend.
“We had a couple of knocks after the Millwall game but it was a very physical encounter so that’s to be expected. We had two or three that didn’t train on Thursday but should be fine to train today (Friday).
“Kasey is one that isn’t probably match-fit after having a stuttering first-half of the season on loan at Huddersfield so we’ll have to assess that.
“It might be that it takes him two or three games to get to that point, but he trained on Thursday and we’ll see how he is.
“Bradley Johnson has been training too and has shown no ill effects. Everyone should be alright other than Jonathan Mitchell with his finger injury.”
