Lampard Guarding Against Fatigue For Reading Clash

Manager Frank Lampard is wary of fatigue heading into this weekend’s Sky Bet Championship clash against Reading.

The Rams played 120 minutes in midweek as they progressed through to the Fourth Round of the Emirates FA Cup, via a penalty shootout victory against Premier League side Southampton following a 2-2 draw.

There was a lot of tired legs in the Derby side on Wednesday night following the conclusion of the game and the manager has admitted he may have to tinker with his squad - but will leave it as late as possible before making a decision.

“Up until Saturday morning I will be thinking about it,” he told RamsTV. “I think we covered 143 kilometres as a team, which is an incredible amount.

“Craig Bryson covered 16-and-a-half kilometres. That’s a long way in a football match. I think we have to take that on board. It’s not something that we are throwing out as an excuse, it is just a fact. It will affect the selection to a degree.”

Reading visit Pride Park following their 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest last weekend, but still sit in the division's relegation places.

The Rams occupy the final play-off position but the manager will not underestimate Reading, who have recently employed Jose Gomes as their new manager.

“I think firstly with Reading, we have to be very careful with this game because looking at the table would be false,” Lampard said.

“I have seen their last game – I watched them play against Manchester United at Old Trafford, be the better team and lose.

“I’ve seen them beat Nottingham Forest and play very well. They are playing well and we are under no illusions going into this game off the back of Wednesday night where we had some fatigue issues.

“We are going to have a very tough game. Regardless of league position, we have to be at our best.”