3/1 To Win
It’s pre-season number 20 for Derby County defender Curtis Davies and, ahead of the 2020/21 season, he is taking on a slightly different role in mentoring the club’s younger players.
As well as the usual running and pre-season fitness build-up for the defender, he is keen to pass on his knowledge and experiences to the next generation who are coming through at the club.
The Rams have one of the youngest squads in the Sky Bet Championship, and with the additions of some more youngsters into the first-team squad during pre-season, Davies has found himself passing on tips to the up-and-coming players to ensure they are doing the right things to aid their progression.
The likes of Festy Ebosele have made the step up, whilst first-year scholars Ola Ibrahim and Harrison Solomon have trained with the first-team since returning to pre-season.
And Davies, who is 35 and has over 550 games in club football to his name, is relishing the opportunity to take the youngsters under his wing..
“I’ve already turned the retirement age and now I’m on borrowed time; but I’m going to keep going as strong as I can. I’m enjoying it,” Davies admitted, chatting to RamsTV following the 2-1 pre-season victory over Peterborough United in midweek.
“I’m enjoying being around the young lads and working with the likes of Harrison Solomon who I’m trying to nurture and give advice and the likes of Festy Ebosele.
“I see a different side to myself now to when I was first doing pre-season where I was at the front of the running and the one who was getting told off by the senior pros but I’m now I’m a different man and I have a different role to play.
"We are hopeful that them being embedded into the squad now will help them. If they have trained with us for six months and they are called upon because we have injuries, or their form allows them to be put in the team then they are ready.
“It’s not about making up numbers, they are here because they have been picked and this will give them a chance. The likes of Festy and the way he built up for the goal, it is a thing that is in the back of the gaffer’s head now.
“It’s for everyone to do those little things to put a spark in the manager’s head. Say if one of the first team players goes down, he can call him over and that is what they need to keep doing.”
