3/1 To Win
Phillip Cocu has insisted everyone in the Derby County camp is relishing their busy February schedule.
Derby face six league fixtures during the second month of the calendar year in the Sky Bet Championship, starting with their trip to Swansea City on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
The trip to South Wales kicks off another hectic week of league action for the Rams, with a trip to Bristol City next Wednesday and a home encounter against Huddersfield Town next Saturday also on the horizon.
Derby have tasted defeat in just one of their last ten games in all competitions and have enjoyed an upturn in form in recent weeks.
Cocu’s side will travel to the Liberty Stadium off buoyed by back-to-back victories on home turf in the last week.
They hammered Stoke City 4-0 at Pride Park Stadium last Friday with, arguably, their best performance of the campaign so far.
They followed that result up with a 4-2 victory over Northampton Town on Tuesday evening in an Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round replay to set up a Fifth Round tie at home to Manchester United next month.
Speaking to RamsTV, the Derby boss said: “We have a very busy schedule at the moment, especially in February which is a short month, and a lot of games.
“It is great to play a lot of games, especially in a moment where everyone feels good, are positive and a lot of confidence in the team.
“We face a few difficult away games in the next week, but as a team and as individual players have an excellent team spirit and it is on a very good level right now. We look forward to playing the games.”
He added: “I have all the confidence in the team at the moment.”
While Derby boast the second-best home record in the Championship, their away form has fallen short of their expectations so far this term.
Since their 2-1 win at Huddersfield Town on the opening day of the season, Derby have recorded five draws and eight losses in the league.
Cocu is confident an upturn in form on the road isn’t far away and he has stressed that his side know they need to be the ones to step up on their travels.
Cocu said: “We have to be aware of, especially if things go better and you feel good, score goals, win games, good football, is that that you don’t think it (an away win) will come by itself.
“On paper it can sometimes be a tough opponent that you face like Manchester United in the FA Cup or a strong league opponent, but we know we have to put the same effort and intensity in.
“Once we get an away win, we will still keep the focus and I am very confident we can get a good streak in the next couple of games. They are tough away games coming, but I still believe it is possible for us to do it.”
