Derby County defender Craig Forsyth will celebrate his ten years with the club on Saturday when he stages in his Testimonial Game against Sky Bet Championship side Stoke City (3pm kick-off).
Over the last decade the Rams have seen players and managers come and go but one thing has remained a constant in that time - Forsyth himself.
Ahead of what is set to be an incredibly emotional and special day this weekend Forsyth, who has made over 300 appearances for the club, sat down with former team-mate Shaun Barker to reflect on a whirlwind decade as a Derby County player.
On the messages received from ex-team-mates and management…
It’s good to hear those words from people that have played a massive influence on my career.
Nigel Clough brought me here on loan from Watford initially and kind of rescued me from drifting around a few places. After Nigel left, Steve McClaren had a massive impact on me and I’ll always be thankful for the two of them.
On his upbringing and how he got into football…
I always had a ball at my feet probably from the age of two. My dad was a footballer but retired at the age of 30 to be in the police force so he was obviously a massive influence of being a footballer. All I ever wanted to do was grow up and do the same thing.
My mum, dad and my family were the ones taking me up and down to training every week. I don’t think I could thank them enough and I definitely wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for them.
Me and my brother would be out in the garden growing up kicking lumps out of each other, so it was always something from an early stage that I wanted to do.
On his first impressions of Derby County and Nigel Clough when he initially arrived…
I’d been at Bradford City on loan in the 2012/13 season and it hadn’t worked out for me. I went back to Watford and was actually on the bench when we played Derby at Watford in February 2013. Nigel was on the sidelines giving people an earful as usual and a few of us looked each other and said: ‘I wouldn’t fancy that every week’. Two weeks later the phone call came asking if I wanted to go to Derby on loan and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.
I drove straight to Cardiff for the game against them the next day, met the team, played and have been here ever since.
Nigel kind of put his arm around me and told me that I should be playing left-back and it’s what I needed. I’ll forever be thankful for him for giving me that opportunity.
On how he’s had to adapt playing under so many different managers…
Everybody has to prove themselves when a new manager comes in. As a footballer, you doubt if a new manager is going to like you or if you are going to fit the way they are going to play. One thing that I’ve always done is listen to what the manager wants, listen to instructions, and get your head down and work hard and it seems to have worked well for me whilst I’ve been here. It’s something my dad has always told me and this club, especially with the amount of changes we’ve had, it’s definitely helped me.
On whether he realised the magnitude of Derby County when he joined…
Once I got here, I realised what a massive club it was and it has a massive influence on the community. If the club is doing well then everyone in the community seems to be in a better mood. As I was realising that, the club was on the up as well and the expectation was there and growing.
On moments that stand out…
The 5-0 win over Forest in 2014, my first full year,, was a special day. It’s gone down in the history books.
At that time it was a vital point in the season and it really kicked us on and gave us the belief and confidence that on the big occasions we had players that could step up to it.
The Manchester United game away in the Carabao Cup in 2018, where we beat them on penalties, was special too. We were obviously winning very late on and conceded to make it 2-2. We thought maybe the chance had gone but to get to penalties and win on penalties at Old Trafford - that stands out.
On his three knee injuries…
The first time I’d never experienced it before, so I had the enthusiasm to get back. I felt brilliant coming back and then it happened again so soon afterwards. I was like: ‘why so soon again?’.
I always alternate between which was the worst, the second or the third. Not many people coming back from three ACLs. Two and three were really tough. They’ve all been different processes and circumstances around them.
On his positional preference…
I always loved playing at left-back, the game was always in front of me and I could run on to it and I felt that was one of my strengths but as you get older your body can’t do it as much as your mind tells you you can.
People had always told me from a young age I would end up playing at centre-back with my height and so on but last year was the longest run I’ve had there and I really enjoyed it. I’m older, more experienced and I can see the game and read the game better and the obvious thing is I don’t have to run up and down as much.
On the best player he’s played with at Derby County…
I’d probably have to say Mason Mount. From the day he arrived on loan from Chelsea, the first session he had, you could see he was going to be something special. Everything was so clean and sharp, his technique and the way he moved and ran, you could see he had something special.
