3/1 To Win
Wayne Rooney wants to see his Derby County players build on their impressive second half showing against Brentford in midweek when they travel to Stoke City on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Derby stormed back from two goals down at the break to earn a 2-2 draw against the Bees at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Lee Gregory and Louie Sibley.
The side’s showing after half-time was impressive as they took the game to the promotion chasers.
Derby’s trip across the A50 to face Stoke is their final Sky Bet Championship fixture before the March international break and Rooney wants to go into the two-week gap on a positive note.
The Rams’ boss wants to see his players on the front foot in what he has described as a ‘big game’ as they look to move further away from the division’s bottom three.
Speaking to RamsTV, Rooney said: “It is a big game and one where three points is massive.
“We have to go there and believe we can get three points. We must play on the front foot and that is what we have worked on in training. If we do that then I have a good feeling that we can get a positive result.”
The 35-year-old added: “I thought the second half was very good on Tuesday. In the first half we were a bit in between in terms of how we were pressing and they made it difficult for us.
“In the second half the lads went out with a very clear message and a will to go and get back into the game. They did it excellently.”
Rooney felt Derby’s second half showing against Brentford saw them take more risks going forward.
It was a move that paid off, along with three changes at the break and switch of formation, and in the long run the point could prove to be a big one for the Rams.
“Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t, but you have to take chances and you have to play with an element of risk,” Rooney explained. “I think we did that in the second half against Brentford and put trust in the defence to defend one-on-one, which I think they are good enough to do.
“It is something that we have to do, take calculated risks, to get what we want and I think in the second half on Tuesday we did that.
“The game at Stoke on Saturday will be difficult, we know that our concentration and focus has to be spot on. It is on the players to hopefully keep a clean sheet and the attackers to try and create chances and score goals.”
Striker Colin Kazim-Richards is a big doubt for the game against Stoke after picking up a knock against Brentford.
He was forced off late on and Rooney says the 34-year-old’s fitness is being monitored closely.
He said: “It is probably 50/50 and Colin is struggling a little bit today. We will just have to keep an eye on him and hopefully he will be alright.
“Whether that is to go on the bench, I don’t know, but we have our fingers crossed that he can play some part to play.”
