Pre-Match Thoughts: Barker Talks Progress, Confidence And Port Vale

Assistant Head Coach Richie Barker says he is 'incredibly impressed' with the work-rate that Derby County's players are showing.

The Rams' physical data is improving 'on a weekly basis' according to Barker and is a big factor behind their 18-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the trip to Port Vale on Tuesday night, the Assistant Head Coach reflected on Saturday's 2-1 home victory against Bolton Wanderers and looked ahead to Sky Bet League One trip to Vake Park.

On Saturday's victory over Bolton...

We spoke to the lads beforehand about the previous games against opposition in the top six so obviously winning against a rival was big.

Importantly, the physical data again that came back was really high and in fairness to Bolton they are a really high-pressing team themselves. They are probably one of the best in the league and we more than matched them, so that's certainly something that is improving.

On how quickly the group has made progress...

Often it takes a really good pre-season to get the players to play that way from a physical side and we also had a spell where we very rarely trained but the times that we did, we trained hard.

A lot of it is about getting the message over but a big part of it is getting over the physical side of it to be able to do it repeatedly. The data is going up on a weekly basis which is really positive but from a physical side I am a bit surprised with how quickly they've made progress, but not so much the technical side.

On turning draws into wins...

The bench has got stronger which has enabled us to make changes like-for-like. We're creating better chances in the final third and that comes from stuff we've worked on in training.

On Louie Sibley and Eiran Cashin's fitness...

They are both coming along OK. They have both done bits today but in terms of how soon they will be available, we don't know. We'll probably get more information on Cash in the morning. With Sibs, we're waiting on a scan result.

On balancing confidence and complacency...

We remind the players constantly about what has got them where they are but also reminding them how simple it can be and how important small details are. We had the game against Barnsley in the FA Cup at the start of the month where we could have been a goal or two down after 10 minutes, so everything matters.

It's a fine line and if the players don't do the right things and think that bits don't matter, things can change. We are always reminding them of the simple basics and, without being negative, telling them just how easily it can all fall down again.

On Port Vale...

Darrell Clarke is an excellent manager in terms of managing people and he gets Port Vale working extremely hard. They are a newly promoted team but they've been touching the edge of the play-offs for quite a while now.

I appreciate the fact we had a man sent off in the reverse fixture and lost 2-1, but it wasn't an easy game. They are very organised, everyone knows their role. They are very aggressive from set-pieces it's a difficult place to go to. It is a relatively local game so a good crowd will be in attendance from our point of view.