PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW: ‘We always believe we can fight back’ - Adams

Midfielder Ebou Adams has praised Derby County's resilience and fight ahead of Tuesday night's Sky Bet Championship clash with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light (7:45pm kick-off).

Derby’s first defeat of the season on home turf came against Norwich City on Saturday, with the visitors claiming a 3-2 win.

Adams believes the Rams showed character and a never-say-die attitude in the fixture that will carry them through a gruelling Championship campaign.

Sunderland, who sit second in the Championship standings so far, will be the Rams’ opponents on Tuesday night and the central midfielder knows what it takes to get a result on Wearside, after claiming all three points with his former club Cardiff City back in September 2023.

Adams spoke with RamsTV to preview the trip to the Stadium of Light.

On keeping the fighting spirit despite defeat against Norwich City…

It's good to be part of that battle, no matter the result. When we went 1-0 down, we still gave everything to fight back and continued to keep going. When we scored to make it 1-1, we were still very much in the game. Even though they scored again we still believed, and I think the crowd as well were just as good. They were amazing dragging us through. It's good to be part of a team that never gives up, as well as the fanbase too.

I'm just happy to keep playing for the club and play with a smile on my face. I want to be an asset to the club, as well as to the boys to help them out, and hopefully keep doing well.

On the chemistry and togetherness in the squad…

Everyone gets along with everyone. It comes to a point where everyone can have a conversation about anything; maybe about life or their personal life. That's really important, and I think it shows on the pitch that the attitude in the games is to never give up. If you are a senior player or someone quite young, it can drive you on because of that connection. It's more like we're going into battle as brothers and as a family. If we lose a match, it hurts everyone. If we win, we all win together.

On his role within the squad off the pitch…

I hope my smile is contagious because then I think, if you can put a smile on someone else's face, it can brighten up their day. You don't know what someone's going through, and they could be having a bad day or a bad morning; you never know. For me, it's important to be a good person as well as a good player.

On trying to get a result against Sunderland…

It'll be the same as every other game; it will be difficult. If we can get a win there, it'll be massive. They're a good team, they're doing really well. They've got a young side and we are looking forward to it. As I said, they'll be tough as any other fixture. I back ourselves and we go there with full confidence.

We've competed with teams that seem to have the advantage and be favourites, but we've made teams think: 'you're a good team, you'll be alright'. We want to make sure we keep putting points on the board no matter where we go, home or away. It'll be tough, but we'll make it hard for them.