Pre-Match Thoughts: "Performances Need To Be Right From The Word Go" - Waghorn

Martyn Waghorn says the full focus of the squad is on a positive performance and result against Fleetwood Town on Saturday which he believes can be used as a foothold to kick-start Derby County's season.

Waghorn scored his first goal following his return to the club in the current Transfer Window on Tuesday evening but it wasn't enough to rescue Derby from a 2-1 defeat against Oxford United on home turf.

Though the striker admits he was delighted to get off the mark in his second stint with the Rams, he says full focus is on finding some consistency after picking up one win and two defeats from their opening three outings of the 2023/24 Sky Bet League One season.

He spoke to RamsTV on Thursday afternoon to preview Saturday's game with Fleetwood at Pride Park Stadium (3pm kick-off).

On his first goal following his return...

I was over the moon as you could probably tell. It's something you dream of, scoring your first goal after a return. Obviously it wasn't the result we wanted but I was delighted to get off the mark. The last couple of years haven't really been too prolific for me so to get one nice and early, I'm delighted.

On what it's like to be back...

I'm loving every minute at the moment. Things could be better on the pitch and we all know that. As a club we all know the standards that are set here and that we need to reach on a daily basis but to be around the lads and staff, it feels like I've never really been away. I'm glad to be back and I'm trying to use the experience to help the team as much as possible now.

On where the team is at...

The results don't show the hard work and the details that go on behind the scenes. We don't need to beat around the bush and as a team, the group of players, staff and individuals we have everything we need to be successful.

I think we showed glimpses against Burton last weekend but glimpses aren't going to get you anywhere, we need to have our performances right from the word go. We need Saturday's game to provide a bit of a foothold to get the season going and hopefully turn a corner.

On Pride Park and the fans...

We need to use our fans because they follow us in big numbers home and away. We're one of the biggest clubs when it comes to that, so we need to really appreciate how lucky we are but we also need to give them something to cheer first and foremost. We need to work hard for the team and the amount of quality that we've got should always shine through at the end of games.