Friday night will mark the start of Richard Keogh’s seventh season at Derby County and he believes this season’s squad has the ingredients to push further than recent years.
The Rams have reached three Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs during the 31-year-old’s tenure at the club and although they haven’t managed to go all the way yet, he believes Derby have managed to do what other clubs haven’t – keep fighting.
With the arrival of five new signings this summer, the squad has a good blend of veterans’ experience and youthful energy.
Mixed with the high-press, high-possession football brought in by Frank Lampard, Keogh feels the Rams’ persistence will pay off.
“Not many teams have been challenging at the top of the league for this long,” the defender told RamsTV.
“We know what it takes to be in and around the top end. We haven’t got over the line yet, but if you look at other teams that have reached the play-offs, they have struggled in the following year while we keep challenging.
“There is a good quality and I think the players that have come in have given a lift to the squad.
“The Championship is as competitive as ever, everyone knows what the league is about but we are just focused on ourselves and implementing what the gaffer wants.
He added: “I love working under him and his coaching staff and I feel the way he wants to play suits my game and a lot of the players we have at the club.
“If we can do that, and I think we have shown that in pre-season, then we will be a good team.”
It begins on Friday night with the Rams’ trip to Madejski Stadium to face Reading.
It will be the first time the Royals’ manager Paul Clement will face Derby after his departure from the club in 2016 and will also pit him head-to-head against Lampard, whom he coached at Chelsea.
With the club’s links, the league’s opening match is set to be an exciting one. However, Keogh’s only focus is getting the 2018/19 campaign off to a quick start.
“We want to go there and put in a positive performance and come back with a positive result because we want to get off to a good start,” the centre-back said.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game but as long as we keep doing the right things then there is no reason why we can’t do that.”
For Lampard, the right thing is hard work. The Rams have already showcased that in their five pre-season fixtures, in which they won four.
Whether in possession or not, the team showed energy and a fight and that is something Keogh insists must keep happening and not falter as they step up a gear and open league play.
“He worked very hard in his career to be the best player that he could be and look what happened there,” Keogh said.
“The reason why he achieved what he did is hard-work, that’s what he has tried to filter down to us.
“There are going to be ups and downs but as long as you give everything for the football club then that is what fans want to see.
“With the manager coming in, the quality that we have got and the work ethic that I think everybody can see we have put into the games, it makes for an exciting season.”
