Evans: “We’re Ready To Get Back To The Real Stuff”

George Evans says there is a feeling of pre-season in the air as Derby County continue their preparations on the training ground ahead of the Sky Bet Championship provisionally resuming later this month.

The EFL announced on Sunday that it had agreed to a provisional restart date of the weekend of 20th June 2020 for matches in the Championship.

Games haven’t been played for almost three months owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, which impacted on the UK back in March.

The date is subject to the strict proviso that all safety requirements and UK Government guidance is met; and that clubs receive clearance from their local authorities in order to stage matches at their home grounds.

After discussing various approaches, and, the importance of completing the season in a similar timeline to that of the Premier League to avoid any potential issues with promoted and relegated clubs, the Sky Bet Championship season is set to conclude with the Championship Play-Off Final on or around 30th July 2020.

Final details are still to be confirmed following further discussions with the EFL’s broadcast partner, Sky Sports.

Derby’s players resumed tailored training last week, having been working on individual programmes at home whilst the UK Government enforced new guidelines towards the end of March.

Evans says with a date for the season to be restarted in place, there is a target for players to work towards ahead of the final nine matches of the campaign.

The midfielder, who can also play in central defence, says there is a pre-season feel to training with the players improving their fitness and sharpness on a daily basis to ensure they hit the ground running when matches resume.

Speaking to RamsTV in the latest of the weekly interviews for the ‘Stay Safe. Stay Fit. Stay Connected.’ programme, Evans said: “We’re happy to be back in and doing a mini pre-season before everything starts again.

“It certainly feels like a pre-season at the moment, although the days aren’t as long and we are in and out the training ground a lot quicker. When we are in, the work is intense as we don’t have too long until the first game.

“The weather has been good since lockdown came in, which has been helpful in this troubling time, and that has meant I’ve been able to keep busy – but we’re looking forward to getting back to the real stuff now.

“We’ve got the date of 20th June to work towards and the hard work starts now to be as fit as possible for the first game.”

Derby sit 12th in the Championship table, five points off the top six, and Evans added: “We had some good form and momentum before the season was halted, so when we get back to playing it’s something we need to kick on with.

“We’ve got nine games left and if we can hit the ground running, sitting five points off the play-offs, it’s something to work towards and see how high we can finish in the table.”

Evans admits the players have had to adapt to a different way of working when it comes to their daily routine.

Derby’s players are tested regularly by the club’s medical team to ensure everyone in the squad remain as safe and healthy as possible, while training is tailored to ensure social distancing is adhered to.

Evans explained: “It’s different going to the training ground; we have a parking spot which we use each day which is away from each other.

“We get all our tests done and then it’s straight onto the training pitch really. Everything has been very good, the Club Doctor (Amit Pannu), has done unbelievably well to keep everyone in check.

“We are following a lot of procedures at the moment to make sure everyone is staying say and healthy and everyone is getting used to how things are working now.”

He added: “It’s a situation we couldn’t have expected, and it is a terrible time for everyone. It’s obviously good to be back in and preparing to play football, but in the bigger picture it’s minimal to what is going on right now.”

Evans, who is 25, has made 14 appearances in all competitions for Derby during the 2019/20 season and had just recovered from a calf injury when the unexpected break in the season came into play.

Since arriving from Reading at the start of the 2018/19 season under former manager Frank Lampard, Evans has played 28 times for the Rams.