Forsyth Praises Manager's Impact

Full back Craig Forsyth has praised the impact of manager Frank Lampard ahead of this weekend’s home game against Aston Villa.

The 29-year-old defender is enjoying a good spell under the Derby boss and has recorded more assists than any full-back in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Scotland international has contributed four assists to the team this season and he has praised Lampard’s attacking intent and believes it is only going to get better as the players become more accustomed to the manager's style.

“I am happy to play my part in what has been a good spell for the club in terms of picking up results,” Forsyth told RamsTV.

“I think all the full-backs have been encouraged to get forward and we’ve all helped to set up goals and long may that continue. The first thing is the team and anything personal is a bonus on top of that.

“The way we play is about pressing teams high up the pitch. If you win it higher up the pitch, you’ve not got as far to run to their goal.

“The manager and his staff have put across their ideas and we practise them in training. It’s then up to us to implement it into the game and you can see since the start of the season we are improving and we can continue to do that.”

The Rams have picked up 10 points from a possible 12 since the October international break.

Three wins against Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City have pushed Derby to within two points of top spot and Forsyth has been pleased with the side's run of form.

“After the last one where we didn’t pick up as many points as we would have liked in between international breaks, looking at the fixtures in this one, we knew it was important to get results against teams who are around us in the league,” he said. “It’s proved good so far so one more to go.”

That last one is this weekend’s game against Dean Smith’s Aston Villa. He was appointed as their new Head Coach last month following the dismissal of Steve Bruce and has won two of his four games in charge so far.

He has already tasted defeat at Pride Park Stadium this season after his Brentford side lost 3-1 against the Rams and Forsyth knows it will be a tough encounter.

“They are a massive club and it’s up to us to take the performances from the last few weeks into tomorrow’s game and hopefully come out with another three points,” he commented.