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Derby County 'have two clear strengths' - Championship managers assess Paul Warne's Rams
Derby County resume their Championship campaign at Preston North End on Saturday. They do so twelfth in the table, with a very strong home record and signs they are improving on their travels too.
They will hope Ebou Adams and Jacob Widell Zetterström return unscathed from their respective international duties with Gambia and Sweden respectively.
Other than the midfielder and goalkeeper Paul Warne has had the luxury of giving the vast majority of his squad a few days off, before reconvening this week to plan their trip to Deepdale.
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So far Warne’s team have impressed their rivals, with a couple of constant themes running through the assessment’s of Warne’s Championship counterparts.
Wayne Rooney (Plymouth Argyle)
“We were getting the ball down and moving it. We were getting into good areas, but we were a little bit wasteful and a little bit sloppy at times with that.
“Derby County's home form has been excellent this season, so we know it's a very difficult place to come. Going a goal down early on was really frustrating because we knew one of their big strengths is that they're the best in the league at scoring from set-pieces, so that was disappointing.”
Mark Robins (Coventry City)
Against a side that works as hard as these, that work their socks off to try and stop us from playing, deny us space, and they've got a little bit of quality as well, they're decent, they are a threat and they're a decent team. I thought in the second half we were better, but we'd given them two goals and then it's difficult to come back against any team.
Narcis Pelach (Stoke City)
“They have two clear strengths, one is set plays – the best team in the division for set pieces and they’ve scored a lot of goals already. Then they are very good at attacking big spaces, counter-attacking, in transitions, when they have big spaces they are good. We have to try to adapt this and tweak things as we always do
Tim Walter (Hull City)
"We lost two points, to be honest. They didn't have many chances, just from set-pieces. In the end we had to score a second and if you don't score, at the end you have to be satisfied with one point and that's two less for us.
Neil Harris (Millwall)
“[The key battles are] all over the pitch against Derby. They’re a physical side. We have to defend our penalty box well. They ask a lot of questions of your backline and ask a lot of questions at set plays.
“They’re a very dominant set play team, very aggressive. I saw a lot of them last year in League One and I’ve seen a lot of them this year already. They get a lot of first contact in both boxes.”
Marti Cifuentes (QPR)
"They have been very strong, firstly last season when they went up and they have been strong this season already – at home they have only lost to Norwich, who are doing really well.
“We know they are a team who is very good at counter, direct, physical. We need to be aware of what type of game we are going to face.”
Johannes Hoff Thorup (Norwich)
“We have to make sure we go and change their home record. It’s a strong team, and if we are just a little bit slow it can cause us some troubles. They are good at counter-attacks and set-pieces.”
Chris Wilder (Sheffield United)
"I've got an incredible amount of respect for Paul and his coaching staff. I've known him a long time. I've got to say, I love his personality. He's a breath of fresh air, he's not a stereotype, he doesn't say the same things game in, game out. He's been very successful in his career. He'll understand what Bramall Lane is like and the challenge we pose, and we understand as well within our group that they are on a good run.
"To gain promotion, and to kick off in the style they have, Paul and his coaching staff deserve an enormous amount of credit. It is going to be one tough afternoon for us."
Michael Carrick (Middlesbrough)
"Any promotion in any division is a great achievement. To pull that off (promotion) again is credit to him for that.
"They are a tough team to play against. I thought they were very unlucky against Blackburn last week. I thought they played ever so well, especially second half.
"You can see what they are about and what challenge they will pose for us. I fully respect the job he has done."
