"We Have To Fight Until The End"

Central defender Richard Keogh believes there is more than enough fight in the Derby County squad to climb the Sky Bet Championship table as the latter stages of the season close in.

The 32-year-old has been a consistent figure for the Rams this season and has played every minute of the league campaign to date.

After picking up one point from their last three games, the defender believes there is more than enough quality in the squad, as well as enough fighting spirit, to return to winning ways as they seek to return to the division's top six.

“The dressing room is very good here,” Keogh told RamsTV.

“We all do fight for each other and there is a great atmosphere around here.

“Everyone tries to execute the game plan, trying to bring their best game to the table. Players sometimes have dips in form, it is natural, and it’s how you come out of it and how you work through it.

“From our point of view, it is about finding the points now. It is not as though we have four games to go and we are having to rely on other stuff; it is still massively in our own hands and we have a game in hand as well.

“After Saturday, we have four home games on the spin coming up so that is going to be key to our season. There are loads of points to fight for and going into these final 13 games I think we sit nicely and we just have to make sure we fight until the end for it.”

And what does the defender think the Rams need to do in order to hit the short of form which saw them rise up the table earlier in the campaign?

“We probably just need a rubbish goal flying in off someone’s backside or something like that to help us along,” he said.

“The manager has touched on it; when you are in a period that we are in, the only way to get out of it is by working harder. That is what we have tried to do, work through these moments as players and as a team.”

Saturday will be another tough test for Derby as they face a trip across the Midlands to Villa Park to face Dean Smith’s Aston Villa side.

Villa find themselves in 13th position, six points behind Frank Lampard’s side.

They are without a victory in five games but Keogh knows the threats they will pose this weekend.

“When Dean Smith went in there, he obviously picked them up and knowing him he plays a nice brand of football,” Keogh commented.

“They are going through a period where they are probably not doing as well as they would hope but still, they are a great team with a great manager and it will be a tough game.

“That’s what it is about, trying to get as many points as possible. If you look at AstonVilla’s squad it is full of quality players and they will probably be disappointed with how their season is going but it is up to us now to go down there to win the game and come back with something.

“We have got to keep looking up the table and not worry about other things going on, just focus on ourselves.”