3/1 To Win
Defender Nathan Byrne has spoken highly of Derby County’s supporters, as well as the togetherness in the dressing room, as Sunday’s Sky Bet Championship clash against Birmingham City at Pride Park Stadium (1:30pm kick off) approaches a sell-out crowd.
In what has been a difficult month for the club’s fans, they have once again showed their incredible support for the club as the weekend’s game against Lee Bowyer’s side heads towards a capacity attendance.
More than 30,000 tickets have been sold for the game as Wayne Rooney’s side look to continue their impressive home form against the Blues.
The Rams’ five-game unbeaten in the league run, which included four wins and a draw, came to an end last Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 at local rivals Nottingham Forest, but the Rams haven’t tasted defeat on home soil since the end of November.
Derby have picked up all three points in each of their last three home fixtures - against Blackpool, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United - as they look to overturn a 21-point deduction and stay in the division.
Byrne, who has made 24 appearances for the Rams so far this term, has been full of praise for the club’s supporters and admitted their support doesn’t go unnoticed by the squad.
“We can’t wait for Sunday,” he told RamsTV. “We’ve seen it’s basically a sell out so it’s brilliant for the fans and we’re hoping that they can get behind us and we can get three points for them.
“We notice them at every game, both home and away. It’s incredible given the situation that we’re in that we are getting sell outs; it’s unreal.
“The support has been a massive help in us trying to achieve the impossible, so my message would be to keep supporting us, keep believing and we’re going to keep fighting.”
The defender, at the age of 29, is one of the more experienced members of the first team squad and at a time where the Rams have had to rely on several youngsters this season who have stepped up to the plate.
The likes of Liam Thompson and Festy Ebosele have had an impact, whilst fellow Academy graduates Max Bird and Jason Knight have kicked on in their progression as players.
The whole situation has undoubtedly brought everyone together, from the supporters to the dressing room. Byrne admits that the togetherness in the dressing room is at an all-time high.
“We are all fighting for each other; we run for each other, we work for each other and I think that’s the basis for any top team,” he said. “Without that, you aren’t really anything, so that’s what we build ourselves on.
“Everything after that is about each player’s quality that we have got in the dressing room but togetherness is the biggest attribute that we do have.
“We have got a great balance in the group with the young and old lads. We did a ‘young against old’ possession match and Max Bird was in the older team - and that says everything that you need to know!
“There are a lot of young hungry lads who are just starting their careers so for them to go through this in their first or second season, they might not think it now but it’s very good for them to go through it.”
The Rams are looking to bounce back this weekend following defeat against Nottingham Forest last Saturday, which ended their impressive unbeaten run in the league.
Fortunately, defeats for Cardiff City and Reading meant Derby did not lose ground over their relegation rivals with 19 games of the campaign remaining.
“Every unbeaten streak has got to come to an end at some point but for it to be against our rivals, it was tough,” he admitted.
“The game was very close and it could have gone either way, but the first goal really told who was going to win it. We were gutted, but it is one match..
“Everyone knows what our main goal is. We want to beat our rivals, massively, but if we get what we want at the end of the season then there is no comparing.”
