Media View: Expert insight on Derby

Victory over Bristol City on Wednesday added to home wins over Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City as Jason Tindall’s team moved into second place in the table.

And while the Cherries were beating the Robins thanks to Arnaut Danjuma’s sublime late goal, Derby were being held to a 1-1 draw by Cardiff City at Pride Park.

Martyn Waghorn’s spectacular free-kick gave the Rams the lead, only for Kieffer Moore’s equaliser to deny them a second league win of the season.

Derby’s seven-match winless run at Pride Park stretches back to June, although the draw against the Bluebirds was enough to lift them out of the relegation places.

Former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was absent from the Derby line-up due to a spell in self-isolation but will be available to feature against the Cherries.

Ahead of the clash, afcb.co.uk caught up with Chris Coles who covers the fortunes of Derby for BBC Radio Derby.

DERBY COUNTY IN PROFILE

Manager: Phillip Cocu (appointed July 2019)

Club captain: Wayne Rooney

Last game: Derby County 1-1 Cardiff City (Championship)

Leading goalscorer 2020/21: Martyn Waghorn (two in the Championship)

League position: 21st

Past six league results: LWLLDD

afcb.co.uk: Summarise Derby’s start to the season? 

CC: It’s been difficult. You look at the table and see where they are and that sums it up pretty well. The draw with Cardiff on Wednesday saw them climb out of the relegation zone. They have struggled.

They will say it’s because they’ve had injuries to key players. They didn’t start the season with many of their big-hitters, two of them being Martyn Waghorn and Tom Lawrence who got 22 goals between them last season.

They really struggled to get going in the early stages. They were slow off the mark, suffering defeats to Reading and Luton and going down 4-0 against Blackburn. They were a bit lethargic and toothless going forward.

They have shown signs of recovery. They had a good win at Norwich and got a point in the derby with Nottingham Forest when they played a lot better. They have their key players back now so it’s hoped they can pick up some momentum moving forward.

But, no question, it has been a very testing and difficult start to the season.

afcb.co.uk: What’s the general mood among supporters about Phillip Cocu’s tenure? 

CC: The mood currently is still positive. They are behind him because most supporters recognise the very difficult hand he’s been dealt.

He’s only just started his second season but, last time around, he had so many off-field incidents to deal with.

They really did seem to stack up and he never had an opportunity to mould the team how he wanted. Lockdown and coronavirus halted progress as well.

There have been a few dissenting voices because of their start to this season but I think the fans can accept that he has been without some of his key players and is still bedding-in some of his new signings, which does take time.

He’s also got a brief from the owner to play more of the younger players and the fans like that because they’ve got some very talented youngsters.

I think they recognise he’s in it for the long haul and there might be some pain before Derby can really move on to the next step.

The general mood at the moment is still very much behind the manager but we know a few more bad results could change that.

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afcb.co.uk: What’s the latest regarding Jordon Ibe? 

CC: He’s still working his way up to fitness. He hasn’t played for such a long time, his last game for Bournemouth was against Burton Albion in the EFL Cup in September 2019 so he’s without first-team football.

He’s played one game for the under-23s and scored. Cocu is being very careful with him and has said they can’t rush him back.

They are being patient and need to make sure he’s in the right state of mind and in the right physical shape as well.

When he’s up to speed, he’ll be an asset to this squad. My hunch is that we probably won’t see him in the first team until after the next international break.

They are making sure he’s absolutely right to play, both mentally and physically, before unleashing him on this Derby first team.

afcb.co.uk: What did you make of County’s transfer business? 

CC: It was necessary transfer business. Cocu recognised there were some areas of the pitch which really needed surgery, in particular the goalkeeper and the defence.

The Rams really struggled in those areas so moved quickly to get in David Marshall and Nathan Byrne (a former Cherries loan player) from Wigan.

They re-signed Matt Clarke on loan from Brighton and brought in Mike te Wierik, a Dutch centre-half.

The defence was sorted quite quickly and then they needed to address the wide areas.

They brought in Polish international Kamil Jozwiak, the big summer signing, and Jordon Ibe, who Bournemouth know very well, although we are yet to see him this season.

If there was to be a criticism of Cocu’s transfer business, it would have been up front. They let Jack Marriott go on loan to Sheffield Wednesday and lost Chris Martin to Bristol City because they couldn’t match his contract demands.

In his place, they brought in 34-year-old Colin Kazim-Richards and the fans, safe to say, were not overly-excited by that calibre of signing.

But he’s yet to make his first start and we can’t really judge CKR until he’s had a run of games.

I’d say their transfer business was necessary and needed and, on the whole, they did a pretty good job. We’ll just have to see how the new arrivals bed-in.

afcb.co.uk: How would you sum up the signing of Wayne Rooney?

CC: I think it’s fair to say he’s been a success but with his moments. He had a massive impact when he arrived in January.

Derby were really struggling and rapidly climbed the table after he had come in. They had a tilt at the play-offs after the season had restarted and he had a big impact.

He scored five goals and had numerous assists. You could tell the whole team lifted when he played.

This season, it’s been difficult because, with Rooney, come lots of tabloid headlines which is par for the course when you have an England legend and Manchester United’s all-time top goalscorer in your ranks.

Editors know they can use his name to sell papers and some of the headlines have been quite detrimental to Coco and the club.

We are waiting for him to really ignite this season and I’m sure he will because he’s still a very good player.

It’s hoped he can provide that link in midfield which could push Derby on to the next level.

afcb.co.uk: Apart from Rooney, who is County’s dangerman?

CC: Even though he sustained a foot injury against Cardiff and probably won't be fit to face Bournemouth, Kamil Jozwiak has been their dangerman this season.

A Polish international who looks a really good player. He is highly regarded in the Polish set-up and Derby did well to get him.

He’s quick, he’s got a trick in him, he’s very good at beating players and bringing players out of the game to create space for others.

He’s got a brilliant attitude and never gives anything up. He’ll work his socks off and is exactly what you want in that wide area. He doesn’t give up lost causes.

He would say he had a perfectly good goal ruled out against Forest on Friday. He’s beginning to find his feet in a Derby shirt and he has that game-changing ability. 

afcb.co.uk: Are any players either injured or suspended against the Cherries?   

CC: As I've said, Jozwiak will probably miss out. Rooney will be back after self-isolating but Ibe won’t feature. David Marshall could return in goal.

Krystian Bielik, who was last season’s record signing, has been out since January after rupturing his ACL. He has been playing for the under-23s but won’t be fit enough to start on Saturday.

afcb.co.uk: What’s your score prediction?

CC: Based on the past two games, I’m going for another 1-1.

You can follow Chris on Twitter – @_chriscoles_

Officials: Robert Jones (referee), Darren Cann (assistant), Mark Scholes (assistant), Will Finnie (fourth official).