3/1 To Win
Life out on loan has been a successful one so far for midfielder Luke Thomas.
The 19-year-old, who signed a new four-year contract with the Rams at the start of the season, has spent the opening couple of months on loan in Sky Bet League One with Coventry City.
The Sky Blues are fresh into the division after securing promotion through the play-offs as they beat Exeter City in the final in May.
Thomas has been exposed to first-team football for the first time and he is very happy to be testing himself at a good level.
“I’m really enjoying playing week in, week out at the minute which I’m lucky enough to be doing,” he told RamsTV.
“It’s been a big adjustment. Last season I was on and off the bench, sometimes making appearances, but there is nothing better knowing you’re playing on the Saturday in front of the fans and the atmosphere is brilliant.
“There is nothing better when you are playing on a Saturday and a Tuesday and getting three points, that’s all that matters in this league.
“Coventry got promoted last season and they’ve kept a lot of the players they had. I think they’ve lost one or two but to keep that strong team is good and hopefully we can build on that and get as high up in League One as possible.”
At a young age, Thomas has adapted to his new surroundings well. Whilst he has bedded in nicely with his new teammates, he is also learning about the division.
“You don’t really get much time on the ball and you’ve always got a man on you,” he said. “Sometimes when I get the ball I like to be one step ahead, because you’ve got to be.
“My aim is to hopefully score some goals and do as much as I can to push the team up the league and get as far as we can.”
Former Huddersfield Town and Scunthorpe United manager Mark Robins is the man in charge at the Ricoh Arena and Thomas was full of praise for his boss.
“The gaffer has been brilliant with me here,” he admitted. “He speaks to me, tells me what he wants and as long as I’m performing on the pitch, he will pick me week in week out and that’s what I need.”
Robins himself has been impressed with the midfielder and believes Thomas has a bright future ahead of him.
“Luke is a good player, has good potential and he needed first team games and thankfully Derby have allowed us to take him on loan,” the Coventry City boss said.
“He’s worked hard, done everything asked of him and he’s had a lot of minutes up until this point. He could have had five, six, seven goals so he’s been a bit unlucky in that sense, but he just needs to learn a bit more about the game. He has a lot of ability with a lot of pace as well.
“We work towards what we are going to be doing on a matchday and he’s adapting to that okay. He still needs to focus a bit but that will come later down the line with him. This experience will not do him any harm.”
