Derby County forward Tom Barkhuizen is hoping Tuesday night's victory over Lincoln City in the EFL Trophy can breed an extra bit of confidence into the side.
The 29-year-old marked his return to the starting line-up with a goal in the 2-0 win over the Imps at Pride Park Stadium and is eager to build on that when they head to Carlisle United in Sky Bet League One on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Speaking to RamsTV, Barkhuizen spoke of his joy at being back involved after sustaining a calf injury in pre-season and previewed Saturday's trip to Cumbria.
On his return to fitness...
It's always very frustrating when you're out injured and especially when it's an important part of the season. I've been playing catch-up but nothing beats playing games and thankfully I've been involved in the last two matches.
On the impact of missing pre-season...
It probably depends on how you look at it. I've had to work pretty hard. Physically it's not too bad but the gaffer has mentioned the mental side, that's not very good when you miss out. I'm probably not 100% fit yet but I'm getting minutes here and there and I am gradually building it up. A lot of my game revolves around being sharp and making runs in behind so it is important to be ready. Now it's just about building things up and not picking up any niggles.
On his goal against Lincoln...
It's always nice to score no matter if it is in the league or the cup, it's always nice just for confidence. I think it was big for the team to be honest to get a win as we've just been a little stop-start so far this season and we need to now stamp our authority on the league.
On the team's start to the season...
It's been quite disappointing and there's been a few grumbles which I think have been pretty fair to be honest. We've probably not clicked as quickly as we'd have hoped to. There was another big turnover of players in the summer and had people dropping in and out with injuries too.
You don't want to play the old 'we've played five of the best teams in the league' card, but we have.
I don't think we've been battered in any game, they've all been by the odd-goal when we have lost and hopefully we can pick up some wins in the next few weeks and when we play these teams again later in the season we can be more equipped.
On Tuesday night's EFL Trophy game...
Winning is winning. Winning breeds confidence and unfortunately we've not quite backed up wins with more wins so we've not quite got into the swing of back-to-back just yet. With what we've got in the dressing room here, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to string four or five wins together and that is what we're wanting to do.
On being well equipped for promotion...
There's no reason why, when you look at our dressing room, that we shouldn't be in and around it but it's all about application and you've got to want to work for each other, want the ball and want to help your team-mate out if they make a mistake. These are the basics that are non-negotiable.
You're going to have bad games, there will be days where you are miles off it but there's no reason why you shouldn't be running around. What he won't accept is us not giving 100% every time we go on that pitch.
Watching from the sidelines when results aren't going our way, it makes you even more eager to get back and help your team-mates and from a personal point of view hopefully I can do that.
On Carlisle United this weekend...
It's always hard to break down teams that sit in so if they do that, it's about being clever. If you look at our goals the other night against Lincoln, it was clever play for both of them and we will need a little bit more of that. We can't get done by one ball in behind and they go and score, so we need to be switched on and see what we can do going forward.
