Curtis Davies hopes that his displays at the back for Derby County can continue to prove his motivation and desire for success, after he extended his contract with the club until 2020.


Davies played every single league game as the Rams reached the Sky Bet Championship play-offs last term, and now he is set to play a key role once again as the club move into a new era under the leadership of Frank Lampard.

The centre-back has felt the appreciation of everyone at the club since he arrived from Hull City in the summer of 2017, and now he hopes that he can repay that faith with continued form this season.

He told RamsTV: “As soon as I came to this club, I felt the love. It’s a cliché but I felt very appreciated and sometimes when a club signs a 32-year-old centre-back, there might be sceptics that think that he’s just here for a payday.

“I hope that I show with my performances that I still have a desire to achieve and to play well.

“I’ll try to continue to do that during my time here.”

Despite a series of immense displays during the 2017/18 campaign, Davies admits that there are always worries when a new management team takes over.

Any doubts were soon calmed by the new boss, as the Rams’ No.33 explained…


He said: “When there is a management change, you never really know how different people will take to you but from the moment that the manager signed, he called me and told me that I would be an important part of his plans moving forward.

“It made me feel very happy to be wanted by a man of the manager’s esteem and I’m happy that it’s done so that I can concentrate on getting ready for the season up ahead.”

Davies was speaking to RamsTV after the squad completed the first session of their training camp in Tenerife.

The likes of Jayden Bogle and Luke Thomas have travelled alongside the more experienced names, and Davies has been explaining to them just how much pre-season has changed since he was a youngster, particularly with his first club, Luton Town.

“I started at Luton with John Moore, we didn’t have a fitness coach or sport science team,” he explained.

“I was telling Jayden about when we used to do runs and one day we went over to a field, and it was a cricket oval.

“John, the youth team manager, decided that it was around 300 metres long, but it was probably about 600!

“We ended up having to do the laps that we could never make, but it was more of a mental challenge back then.

Davies added: “We have played short, sharp games, there has been a lot of twisting and turning to get our bodies used to that movement.

“Sometimes, they say that it’s disguised running when the ball is involved but all of this has been relevant.

“They have all the information and data, with your heart rate and GPS, and it just helps you to get the best out of yourself.

“You know that you’re not cheating yourself, or the other lads.”