Derby County defender Callum Elder has opened up about his side’s slow start to the season with the full-back adamant that the Rams will kick on in the next few games to come, in comments given to Rams TV.
Elder spoke at length on a whole number of topics, speaking before Derby’s next match versus promotion rivals Portsmouth at Pride Park.
Derby, at the time of writing, find themselves in an unspectacular mid-table spot in the division after six matches played – Paul Warne’s Rams failing to start the season with win after win like many expected, three wins and three defeats so far has them placed in 11th position in the League One table.
Inconsistent Form At Derby
It’s been a rollercoaster ride following Derby County in the infancy of this campaign so far, Warne’s men unable to really get going and find consistent form.
A shock opening day defeat to Wigan Athletic set the tone, a Charlie Wyke double at Pride Park securing a 2-1 victory for Shaun Maloney’s underdogs at the expense of the heavily fancied home side.
This has been followed up with convincing wins – the most notable three points coming away at Peterborough United in a 4-2 barnstorming contest that went the way of Warne’s Rams alongside a 3-0 win over Burton Albion – but the Rams followed up the high of the Posh game with a defeat to Bolton Wanderers.
It’s hard to predict what Derby County will show up, a worry for Paul Warne with John Mousinho’s unbeaten Portsmouth side the next match-up for the Midlands based team.
What’s Been Said?
Callum Elder spoke to Rams TV ahead of the clash versus Pompey this coming weekend, commenting on the belief in the camp and the positive environment in the dressing room to achieve something this season in spite of a lacklustre start.
He said: “It’s a bit of everything to be honest. We all know what we’re here for and that’s to get the club higher up in the league and into the league above.
We all know that’s our role and that’s our goal but you’ve got to create an environment that allows you to get there. That environment is certainly there.
It’s a good atmosphere, you walk into a changing room that is positive and I think the biggest compliment about it is that everyone knows each others strengths so we all believe in each other and the fact we’ve got that real tight link group can help us achieve our goals.”
The ex Hull City defender further addressed the task of playing Pompey, Elder and the rest of the Derby team eager to ‘stamp their authority’ on the league starting with this weekend’s tough encounter.
He said: “If we were to reflect on some of the games this season, in crucial moments we’ve nearly been there and the manager has spoke to us multiple times to reiterate the point that this is the here and now.
We have the opportunity to do something really good but we need to stamp our authority now, not in one month or three months.
As we move forward we need to stamp our authority on this league. We’ve got a great group of players, a great coaching staff. We are all in it together and now is an important time to show our qualities and strengths in the division.”
Writer’s View
Everyone associated with Derby County will be disappointed with how they started this campaign, the Rams were a lot of people’s pre-season favourites for promotion and they’ve underwhelmed a handful of games into the new season.
But, Paul Warne’s men will know that the league is a marathon and not a sprint.
If they begin to put together some more consistent form instead of being the patchy side they have been so far, they could well propel themselves up the division and worries will begin to subside around Pride Park.
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