Pre-Match Thoughts: Wildsmith Talks Penalty Exploits And Busy Schedule Ahead

Derby County goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith is keen for the squad to pick up some real momentum ahead of a hectic November schedule on the road - starting with Tuesday night's game against Exeter City.

The Rams face the Grecians and Bristol Rovers at Pride Park Stadium this week before they spend the entire month of November on the road.

Speaking to RamsTV, Wildsmith discussed the challenge of Tuesday night, the hectic schedule ahead and his recent penalty saving exploits.

On the recent run of penalties faced…

I saved back-to-back penalties before at Sheffield Wednesday, but that was a long time ago.

It’s a bizarre situation to be in, especially the amount of penalties in a little amount of games. For me it’s sort of a win-win because there’s no real expectation on my side to save it.

It’s great to get the recognition but in the grand scheme of things we don’t want to be giving penalties away and I don’t think we’ve been on the right side of some decisions in the last three games.

On penalty preparation…

It’s the same for every game; we’ll look at free-kicks, corners, penalties, long-throws - that doesn’t really change.

I don’t want to give too much away - it’s been highlighted enough that they’ve only scored one out of their last five against us so it’s something that we do and I have done at past teams as well.

Last season, with being second choice at Sheffield Wednesday, Darren Moore used to take players over to practice penalties and it was my job to stop them so in terms of what it actually feels like to save penalties - a lot of preparation and practice went on last year.

Did I think that would come into play as much? No; but it’s good to feel comfortable and know that I can put pressure on the penalty-taker now.

On whether saves mean more when they lead to wins…

It felt nice to make the save against Accrington Stanley because the score was 1-0 at the time and the situation of the game could have turned the other way. I think if you’re winning 3-0 or 4-0 and you save a penalty, it’s still nice but there’s not really as much on it.

I’m always trying to help the team in any situation and if it’s in a crucial situation like that then it feels that little bit better.

On relationship with Goalkeeping Coach Andy Warrington…

Andy has been great since the day he came in. He is a really calm figure, a really down-to-earth good guy and I’ve really enjoyed working with him.

I feel like the performances in the goalkeeping department have been pretty solid from me and Loachy since he’s come in, so it reflects really well on him.

On managing the busy schedule…

A lot of the preparation work takes care of itself when the games come thick and fast, it’s just about getting the lads in a position to where they feel ready for the matches.

For the next three or four weeks it’s pretty full on but this is League One and this is what it’s like. The good thing about the result the other night is that we’ve got another game Tuesday to put it right.

If players were to admit it, I think they’d prefer to play and keep playing than have a week off and train because players live for games.

It’s a real good opportunity to create some momentum, get some results and get some points on the board.

On the ‘clean-sheet wall’ at Moor Farm…

A lot of the time the strikers get all the accolades and so it’s nice to celebrate a clean-sheet because at the end of the day I think clean-sheets are a team effort.

Getting to see it every day when we walk down to meetings or to lunch, it’s just that reminder of we did that together and it pushes is on that little bit more.