Bird: “The Three Points Was The Most Important Thing”

Max Bird says Derby County must grasp the opportunity to build on their back-to-back victories over Charlton Athletic and Barnsley.

Derby recorded successive wins in the Sky Bet Championship for the first time this season either side of the New Year.

A brace from Jason Knight secured all three points at Pride Park Stadium against Charlton on Monday in a 2-1 success, while strikes from Jack Marriott and Martyn Waghorn saw Derby overcome Barnsley by the same scoreline on Thursday.

Academy graduate Bird, 19, was named in the starting line-up for both games and impressed as Phillip Cocu’s side claimed a maximum points return.

His performance in the middle of the park against Barnsley saw him named as the Sky Bet Man of the Match award by Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Bird commented: “I’d say it was a deserved win although the performance probably wasn’t as good as on Monday night against Charlton.

“The most important thing, though, was getting the three points.

“We want to climb the table and although we didn’t start the season too well, we want to kick on from now.”

The win over Barnsley saw former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney make his Derby debut.

Rooney, 34, captained the side and Bird admitted it was ‘a dream come true’ to play alongside the five-time Premier League winner.

“It was so surreal playing alongside Wayne in midfield, especially as a Manchester United fan as well,” he said.

“Playing with one of my heroes is a dream come true.”