Pre-Match Thoughts: 'Looking For A Win Ahead Of International Break' - Bird

Midfielder Max Bird believes another win for Derby County this weekend would put them in a good place ahead of the October international break.

Saturday's trip to Cheltenham Town will be the Rams' final Sky Bet League One fixture prior to the break and a win could see Derby move into the top six.

Speaking to RamsTV ahead of Saturday's clash with the Robins, Bird spoke about his recent return to fitness after picking up an ankle injury in mid-August and building momentum.

On Tuesday evening's win at Blackpool...

I loved it. It's been a long time coming but I got my head down, worked hard in rehabilitation and got back a couple of weeks early. I'm just buzzing to be back out there with the boys. It was a big win for us and hopefully we can build on that.

On whether he was surprised to start...

Yes and no. It wasn't a surprise but if you're out for six and a half weeks it probably wasn't expected if you get me? I'm ready to play whenever and when the gaffer asked me how long I could play. I said 90 minutes, obviously! It's good to be back out there and I'm ready now when called upon.

On if he targeted an early comeback...

I was told between six and eight weeks, which I think was to try and lift me from when the injury happened. It came at a difficult time too so early in the season as I was feeling good and moving well. The gaffer gave me a week off to clear my head but then I came back and attacked my rehabilitation work. I'm still going with parts of that now to strengthen my ankle to where it needs to be.

On whether a big pre-season helped his recovery...

I had a conversation with the doctor when it happened and he told me it was a bad injury, but it could have been so much worse. They thought I may have cracked my leg due to the pain I was in but he said if I hadn't had done all the stuff in pre-season and worked hard then maybe my ankle would have been in a worse place and wouldn't have been as recoverable as it was. I took the positives from that and looked at it in a different way.

On taking momentum into Cheltenham Town...

It was a massive win the other night at Blackpool and we've got another away fixture where we need to go and pick up a result. I think it will put us in good stead going into the international break. We have to see what Saturday brings and we'll take each game as it comes and see where we end up.

On whether the side feels different now than it did pre-injury...

It's hard to say. We've added a couple of players to the team and the squad looks really good at the minute. Our bench the other night had top players coming on that made a difference in the game. The squad looks really good at the minute and with the injuries we've got, we're going to need every player.