Frank Lampard spoke ahead of Derby County’s return to league action again today following last weekends 3-1 victory over Birmingham City.
The Rams have hit a solid run of form in recent weeks taking ten points from a possible twelve including giving Chelsea a good run for their money in the cup.
Attention is fully back on the Championship now however with Aston Villa the visitors to Pride Park.
Ahead of the clash with Dean Smith’s side we heard from both Frank Lampard and the recent assist king, Craig Forsyth.
Forsyth Impact
The 29-year-old defender is enjoying a bright spell under Frank Lampard and currently has the most assists for a full-back in the Championship.
With four assists, the Scottish international talked not just of himself but also his impact on the younger players in the squad.
“I think there’s a number of us here that would class ourselves as experienced.”
“I think we take it upon ourselves to look after the young lads and give advice where we can.”
“They’ve all taken to it well and as you can see from results they’ve done really well.”
Derby on fire
Rams boss, Frank Lampard, spoke as ever in a professional and charismatic way ahead of the Aston Villa game.
Villains head coach, Dean Smith spoke of his high regard for Lampard this week saying how ‘impressed’ he is at how he gets his message across.
Lampard remains confident despite injury concerns with both Martyn Waghorn and Mason Mount ruled out.
“It’s natural that injuries come in when you’re working hard to be successful.”
“All teams need to train hard and play hard, then injuries will come so we need to have the squad.”
“I believe in it, I hope so, it’s good. I don’t mind the challenge of people getting injured and players coming in it’s a challenge for all of us.”
Consistency is something Derby have tried to maintain but Lampard still believes there is plenty of work to do.
Despite which, he is confident in his team to come out on top today and in full praise of his counterpart, Dean Smith.
“We must be clinical when we are up in games. Fortunately, we were against Birmingham.
“There are always improvements that can be made.
“Aston Villa have lots of threats individually and collectively, so we need to appreciate what is in front of us.”
“They (Villa) will want to play good, attacking football. Once he (Smith) gets his ideas across, I think they will be challenging.”
“It’s a good spell but it will be slightly defined by what happens this weekend.”
“All these results have been down to us and it’s important to finish it off tomorrow.”
Derby will once again be without the ever-improving Mason Mount who is still recovering from an ankle injury.
The 19-year-old England international missed last weeks win over Birmingham City and is not back in time for Villa which Lampard describes as “frustrating”.
