Assistant Head Coach Richie Barker says it's important that Derby County don't drop their standards for the final four games of the regular Sky Bet League One campaign - starting with their clash with Wycombe Wanderers on Wednesday evening (7:45pm kick-off).
The Rams travel to Buckinghamshire for what is their penultimate away fixture of the 2023/24 season.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the trip to Adams Park, Barker reflected on a rare weekend off for the Rams and spoke of the feeling in the camp going into the final weeks of the campaign.
On whether the weekend off was a welcome one...
Possibly. We were pleased with the lads in the Portsmouth game last week and we could have carried some momentum on from that, but it was nice to give the lads a little mini-break, mentally and physically, ahead of three weeks of hard work.
On whether any of the injured players are close to returning...
I think if we didn't have the game on Wednesday night then we'd have a couple more train with us. It makes it a little more difficult because if they are to be involved on Wednesday, they need to train on Tuesday, really. In an ideal world we wouldn't have this game at this time, but we'll see how they get on with their rehabilitation and whether they can travel with us.
On the pressure of the final weeks and whether the staff are doing anything different with the players...
As players, you aren't as aware of the pressure within a football club. You are aware of the pressure of your role and the particular 90 minutes ahead, but I don't know if you're totally aware of the meaning off the field in terms of finance and what it means for a football club getting to the next level. If they were as aware as we are, the mental fatigue would kick in a bit more but the pressure really for us is being the best that we can be at all times. The standards the group have set themselves over the last 10 months means our work is about ensuring we don't drop those standards. That's where the pressure is, on maintaining those.
On Wycombe and how they will be feeling after Wembley disappointment in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy Final on Sunday...
I can imagine it's tough for them after losing late on agianst Peterborough, but I'm sure they still enjoyed their day at Wembley in the Final. It's an opportunity of a lifetime for some of those players, to play in front of a good crowd and try to win something. I'm sure they will be disappointed they didn't win on Sunday, but also at the same time they should be proud of themselves that their families saw them walk out at Wembley. As disappointed as they will be, it's relatively short-lived when they've got another game on Wednesday. I'm sure they were straight on to talking about facing us.
