Goalkeeper David Marshall knows Derby County are approaching a crucial period of their season ahead of the back-to-back home games against Wycombe Wanderers and Coventry City.


The Rams face Gareth Ainsworth’s side on Saturday, whilst Mark Robins’ side visit Pride Park Stadium on next Tuesday.

Derby head into the games looking to turn around their current form which has seen them lose four successive league fixtures.

The collective decision was made after the midweek defeat to Middlesbrough that Wayne Rooney lead the Rams whilst the search for a permanent manager continues, after Phillip Cocu’s departure earlier this month, and he will be aiming for a reaction from his squad for this weekend’s game against the Chairboys.

And Marshall knows how important getting a result against the Chairboys will be for the confidence amongst the squad.

“It is a difficult time,” he admitted, speaking to RamsTV. “I think when you are on such a bad run and at the bottom of the table you just want to win a game and we are desperate to do that.

“The boys have been working hard the last couple of days. It was disappointing during the week to lose again at Middlesbrough, but when you are in that stage you are just desperate to get to the next game because you just want to prove yourself and get three points.

“We know we need results now. Coming back to two home games, we have obviously not won at home yet this season in the league and we are desperate to do that and put it right.

“We know that we have under-performed from the start of the season and from the change of manager. There are no excuses now, we should not be where we are. The squad is better than what it has shown so it is time to go out and prove it.”

He added: “It can turn around easily in this league, but at the same time we know losing can turn into a bad habit. We just need to clear our heads – Wednesday has gone and there’s nothing we can do to change that - so we will move on to Saturday and a chance to win at home.”


The Rams have endured a frustrating spell in front of goal so far this season. The Rams are the lowest scorers in the division, however, Marshall knows there is much more to come from the squad and is confident the goals will flow sooner rather than later.

“This squad last season finished just outside of the play-offs so we know the ability and talent is there,” he admitted. “In this league every game is so important, it’s so tough.

“The next two games for us are against two teams who have just come up and are doing really well. They’ve got that hunger and desire and that winning feeling from last year. We have not had that.

“We have had one win, we haven’t had a build-up of wins or a build up of confidence and that is what we are looking to get this week.”