3/1 To Win
Frank Lampard has demanded that Derby County’s players maintain their high standards ahead of Saturday’s trip to Hull City.
Derby have won their last three games in all competitions and will head into a two-week international break after this weekend’s Sky Bet Championship clash at the KCOM Stadium.
The Rams are making their second visit to Humberside inside five days after running out 4-0 winners against the Tigers on Tuesday night in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup.
Lampard has seen plenty of promising signs from his side in the opening weeks of the season but he is also mindful that improvements can also be made.
The 40-year-old wants to go into the international break on a positive note and, as someone who prides himself on hard work, he wants his players to continue to do the basics right.
Speaking to RamsTV, Lampard said: “It’s up to me to find the right mixture from what we’ve been doing in recent games. We’ve had three good performances on the trot, with three wins, and we’ve got some important momentum now.
“It’s also important that the players continue to do the right things, so whatever team I decide on and whether there are changes or not we have to realise this is a fresh game. We should take confidence from what happened on Tuesday night, but we’re starting again now.
“I’m happy with our progression but we need to make sure we never rest and we know the improvement we’ve seen in the last few games can easily turn if we don’t keep going in the right direction. The players know that; the basics must remain the same and I think there’s more to come from us.”
He added: “I think the mindset is important. Momentum only carries on while you keep the application level high and that as soon as you drop that, the momentum is lost.
“We’re going into the international break after this game so we need to throw everything at it, in the right way, to try and get the right result to keep going well in the league.
“I want a positive result, and a performance, and then we’ll be able to reflect on our start during the international break.”
Reflecting on the 4-0 victory at the KCOM Stadium on Tuesday, Lampard was impressed with what he saw from the Rams.
The Derby boss made eight changes from the side that defeated Preston North End last weekend in order to spread minutes across his squad – and those that came into the side have given him a selection headache.
He said: “The performance was very good the other night.
“We were creative and fast with the ball, while the work rate once again was very good. There are still a few areas I’d like to improve, for example we gave them one or two opportunities, but I think I’ll always say that.”
Lampard is anticipating a reaction from Nigel Adkins’ side following the midweek cup clash and is expecting another typically challenging Championship encounter.
Adkins, like Lampard, shuffled his pack and made a raft of changes to his starting line-up.
Lampard explained: “I would have thought Hull will make a lot of changes, like they did for the cup game.
“We didn’t come up against their best team and for perspective we need to know that.
“I think they will be strong and there’ll be a reaction whatever way you look at it, so it’ll be a tough game.”
