"I've Had To Wait For My Chance But That Comes With The Squad We Have Here"

Midfielder Duane Holmes has had to bide his time for his first-team opportunity, but he took his chance on Saturday as he put in a man-of-the-match display in the 3-1 win over Birmingham City last weekend.

Holmes signed for the Rams from Sky Bet League One side Scunthorpe United on a three-year deal on Deadline Day in August but has seen first-team opportunities limited due to the squad’s good form this term.

The 24-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, has had to wait patiently, but, following an injury to Mason Mount, he was thrust into the action and made his full debut for the club last weekend.

After a nervy opening 45 minutes for the Rams, Holmes helped Derby take the game by the scruff of the neck and helped the side to what turned out to be a comfortable win.

“I was really happy to be starting the game and I knew that I had big shoes to fill with Mason Mount playing so well and hopefully I did that,” Holmes told RamsTV.

“You always want to play, and I’ve had to bide my time and wait for my chance but that comes with the squad that we have got here. I knew that I would have to be patient when I signed here, and I have worked hard and thankfully it has paid off.

“We have been playing some really good stuff at the minute so that first half on Saturday against Birmingham was not up to what we’ve been doing recently.

“To come out after half time and perform in the second half it shows the character we have got in the dressing room because we all really wanted the win and we’re thankful that we got it.”

Since signing for the club, Holmes has adapted well to life with the Rams.

“It’s a great dressing room and it was never a problem settling in,” he stated.

“The lads call me Tom Huddlestone’s son because I’m always around him and he has helped me a lot since I have been here. I have been trying to improve myself physically and I’ve been working hard in the gym and hopefully it will all pay off.”

Since the October international break the Rams have won three and drawn one of their four games, picking up 10 points from a possible 12.

Impressive wins against Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham have propelled the Rams into fifth position, two points off Leeds United at the top of the league.

Holmes is hopeful his side can pick up a positive result against Aston Villa this weekend before the November international break comes into play.

“It will be nice to go into the international break unbeaten in the league from a really tough run of fixtures if you look back,” he admitted. “We have done really well in the league and hopefully we can carry that on.

“We had a really tough week and got seven points out of nine, but probably should have got all nine. It shows we can go to a place like Middlesbrough and completely dominate the game. It shows what sort of a team we are. I feel like if we are on our game then we can give anyone a match.

“We were all a bit deflated after Middlesbrough because we played so well and dominated, especially the first half an hour. I was on the bench watching thinking ‘this is great to watch, this is what football should be like’.

“We have been playing great stuff, we needed that second goal to really cement the game. We were disappointed to get a point which shows how high we want to be.

“Every game is a big one in this division, but Aston Villa are a massive club with ambitions of getting promoted like ourselves. But we will go out there on Saturday and hopefully get the three points.”