Pre-Match Thoughts: Roberts Fully Focused On Rams Form

Derby County defender Haydon Roberts is enjoying being back in the starting eleven and is fully focused on achieving success with the Rams.

Roberts is on a season-long loan from Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion but the 20-year-old sees himself firmly as a Derby player right now.

Speaking to RamsTV ahead of Saturday's home match with Morecambe with Sky Bet League One, the left-back reflected on the FA Cup Fourth Round tie against West Ham United on Monday, spoke of his experiences this season and looked ahead to Morecambe.

On testing himself against Premier League opposition last time out...

It was a great occasion to be involved in. The FA Cup, on TV and under the lights at Pride Park, it's what you dream of doing as a kid. I was grateful to start and play the full 90 minutes.

We set up to win the game, unfortunately we didn't but I still think there were plenty of positives and it's definitely the type of match and opposition you want to be a part of.

On his experiences this season...

We've had the West Ham United cup tie and the Liverpool Carabao Cup tie and these are the games you want to be involved in - cup matches against Premier League sides and the best players in the world.

The Premier League is the best league in the world and you want to see where you are compared to them. As a team I think we did really well in both of them.

On his communication with Brighton...

The most important feedback I get is from the coaches and team-mates here as I'm a Derby player for the season and, like I've said previously, I see myself as a Derby player - not a loan player. I feel part of the club and I really want to be successful here.

On the new faces in the building...

It's great to meet new people and they are great players as well so that tops it off. The rest of the team are very welcoming so it's an easy transition from whatever club you come from. We've got great characters and it makes it easy to settle in.

On his spell out of the team...

It's part of football. The biggest thing I've learned from this loan and experience is to not get too high and not to get too low. Football can change quickly, you can be on top of the world and then the day later get injured.

You've got to take the experience on board, whether that's playing West Ham or hopefully playing against Morecambe - you've got to appreciate the game, play like it's your last and just enjoy the moment.

On Morecambe...

We've just got to do the usual, the basics. We don't change whether we're playing West Ham or Morecambe. It's different opposition but we treat them the same, because if you take one game more seriously than the other than it changes the mentality. We've got a winning mentality so we treat every game the same.