Pre-Match Thoughts: Warne Looking For More Ruthlessness From Rams

Derby County Head Coach Paul Warne wants his side to start turning some of their recent draws into wins - starting with Saturday's trip to Shrewsbury Town in Sky Bet League One (3pm kick-off).

The Rams go into the weekend's clash unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions and although Warne acknowledges that as a positive achievement, he is keen for the team to start being ruthless in the final third.

Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the return to action on Saturday, the Head Coach spoke about the recent unbeaten run, the threat of the Shrews and gave an update on the squad's fitness following the October international break.

On the return from the international break...

The players had an extended weekend and came back in on Monday. Training was really bubbly and I'm really pleased with how they've trained this week. We're looking in good fettle and we've got Saturday-Tuesday fixtures for the foreseeable.

On the injury list...

We're moving in the right direction. We haven't injured anyone else, which is a positive! Callum Elder and Joe Ward have been involved in full training and the others are getting closer. It's pleasing because we now have around 20 first-team players to pick from ahead of the weekend.

On how difficult that makes choosing a team...

It isn't easy, but that's how football is. You try and pick the best eleven players for each game. We're lucky that we see the players all week and we get a good feel of how we think we should play. Everyone has to fight for their place and Wardy and Callum have to fight to get back in. It keeps the starting eleven on their toes, that's for sure. Previously we've had a few occasions where we haven't made as many changes as I would have liked or should have. Having this amount of players enables us to change things a lot more freely and keeps competition for places and drives standards.

On being unbeaten in seven matches...

I understand all the expectation but nobody has greater expectation than me. We should be comfortably in the top six from the season so far. We've dropped points, regrettably, at home to Cambridge and away at Cheltenham. I'm not saying we're the best team in the league currently, but I do think we're a top six team. It's alright me saying it but we've got to back it up. At the moment I feel like I'm doing press after games saying we're a bit unlucky.

We've missed copious amounts of opportunities to score. I think all the lads have to chip in for goals and not rely on just strikers. Our overall play has been really good but I don't think we've been ruthless enough in the final third . The only time we've really felt we've done that is Blackpool. I'm really pleased with how the team have been, I'm just frustrated that the final little bit, we've had a dearth of goals.

On talking about unbeaten runs internally...

I don't talk about unbeaten runs, really. To get promoted you have to have five, six or seven wins on the spin - that's what separates teams in the league. Although draws are a positive point, I personally would rather lose more and win more. Points count at the end o the season, but if you have too many draws it's no good. I don't get too excited or carried away. If we were top then we'd think we were going OK here, but we feel a bit short on the current run. We need to be turning draws into wins.

On what to expect from Shrewsbury Town...

Like every team in this league, on their day they can cause you problems. They have always been a really good home side and I've always found them a really difficult opponent. I've always found that their home crowd really get behind the team and it makes them difficult. They haven't been conceding many goals but haven't been scoring loads, like us, either. I'd like to think that the best version of ourselves will give them a good game and hopefully we will come out with three points.