Goalkeeper Kelle Roos says he is delighted to have put pen-to-paper on a new three-year contract with Derby County - and already cannot wait to start the 2019/20 Sky Bet Championship campaign.


The shot-stopper broke into the Rams’ starting XI at the start of 2019 and finished the season strongly as he made a string of impressive saves on Derby’s run to the Play-Off Final.

Whilst it wasn’t to be for Derby on the day at Wembley Stadium, tasting a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, Roos is already looking ahead to the new season and cannot wait to get started again.

The 27-year-old Dutchman, who joined the Rams from non-league Nuneaton in 2014, made 24 appearances in all competitions in the 2018/19 campaign.

“I’m very pleased to finally get it sorted,” he told dcfc.co.uk. “I really like the place and the boys and I’ve been a part of this club for a long time now.

“I’ve waited patiently to fight for my place, and I feel like I am in a great position now. I’m very happy that I can stay at the club and I have the support from the Board of Directors, the staff in the first-team.

“They have confidence in me and I’m very grateful for the chance. I’m just excited for the new season now and I want to kick on now.

“I just want to get stuck in and try to help my team-mates week in week out, again. I’ve always been very hungry to succeed but now even more so. I’ve had a taste of it and I only want more now.

“It’s not a place where I feel I can rest. I feel like it’s time to kick on now. I’ve worked so hard to get in this position and I’m grateful for that, but at the same time, I want so much more.

“I’m ready to come back and learn every single day and go from there.”


Roos has been learning under the influence of Head Goalkeeping Coach Shay Given over the last 12 months.

The former Republic of Ireland international holds the record for the number of caps for his country as a goalkeeper and he also made over 600 appearances in the Premier League during his career.

“Shay has helped me a lot” Roos admitted. “I felt I had a good relationship with all the members of staff coming in last summer.

“I feel like I can talk to them a lot and they are always trying to help me. With Shay, I straight away got on with him well.

“I like the philosophy he works with and I think with his experience, there is so much more he can help me with.

“We got on really well from the start and I’m happy with the confidence he puts in me. I’m happy that they see the way I apply myself.”


This time of the year is important for any player.

It’s a time to rest, relax the muscles and reset your mindset for the new season.

However, it’s something Roos finds difficult to do.

“I just like to work,” he said. “I spoke with Shay a couple of times because I want to improve all the time and he really forced me to take a break and do nothing for a couple of weeks.

“That is hard for me because I get restless, but I feel at the same time, by not doing anything for a couple of weeks, it makes you more and more hungry again and really dig in during the season.

“It also refreshes your mind but for me personally, it’s hard. I just want to do things like my gym work, stay as fit as I can, but at the same time, he told me to rest up for two weeks.

“That’s what I’m doing at the moment but then I will hit the ground running when I return. I’m 10 days in now and I really want to go back to training, but I will stick it out and then really work towards the season. I’m already buzzing to get going now.”