3/1 To Win
With Derby County set to return to pre-season training later this week, Cameron Jerome is hoping to pick up where he left off when it comes to finding the back of the net.
The big forward scored five goals in the final six matches of the 2017/18 campaign – finishes that proved crucial as the Rams eventually claimed their third top-six finish in five years.
The first of those two strikes came in a dominant home showing against Cardiff City and Jerome admitted that from that moment, he was in a real rhythm.
The fact that the 31-year-old scored in four successive games for the first time since 2005 is testament to that.
That said, however, he wants his goals to contribute to a bigger picture for Derby as the 2018/19 campaign, and a first campaign under Frank Lampard, draws ever closer.
“Sometimes you have a couple of goals in a row, then the next week you don’t score, and then you pick it up again,” he told RamsTV.
“I was in a real rhythm at that point, though. The chances fell for me and I was always confident that I was going to score.
“It was nice to score in all of those games, but, and I don’t want to sound too negative, it means nothing.
“I could score in 12 or 13 games in a row and whilst it looks good for the personal stats, it brings me no more satisfaction if we didn’t achieve anything.”
After being in and out of the side over the first three months of his time at Pride Park Stadium, Jerome is now hoping to hit the ground running when the Rams return for pre-season training and have a big impact from the off.
“In terms of my Derby career, it gives me hope that next year I can have more of a consistent run in the side and over a longer period, I am confident that we can score goals and help the team achieve its ultimate target, which is promotion,” the former Norwich man added.
“I will stand by what I said when I first joined, this is a Premier League club in the making, it just needs to take that last step of getting there.
“We will come back next year, I’m sure the squad will be freshened up and we will be ready to give it another challenge. Hopefully, I can be a big part of that.
