Two draws and two losses in their last four Championship games have taken a toll on Derby County, for they have fallen as many as 10 behind Sheffield Wednesday, who are placed in the last playoff spot. Mathematically, they might still be in the race to get an uplift to the Premier League but it has to be understood that something scintillating would be needed from Steve McLaren and co. to make a push for the playoff spots.
Here are three key aspects they must focus on to get back on track and start dishing favourable results.
1. Play Two Strikers Up Front
We are once again in that phase of the season when Derby County start fading away. There has been a perennial lack of Plan B at their disposal and no wonder why the fellow Championship outfits find it easy to tactically nullify the Derby based side. One of their concerns has been an evident dearth of goals, as so far this season, they could muster merely 36 goals from 32 league games.
It is arguably a high time for McLaren to use two faces in his attacking frontier, i.e., using Darren Bent and Matej Vydra (mind you, the former Watford hitman thrives in a two-man offensive structure). When the goals start to pile, an immediate positive impact could be sniffed inside any side.
2. Will Hughes Must Step Up
Derby County’s youngster Will Hughes has been, time and again, drawn comparisons with Tottenham Hotspur’s sensational starlet Dele Alli. The 21-year-old, however, has failed to chisel out the best in him so far this season.
His tactical awareness, ability to tear up defences and knack to neatly find pockets of spaces for himself do throw him under the limelight for being one of the finest midfielders in the second tier, but after accumulating 24 games this season, Hughes has merely garnered 2 goals, 2 assists, and 32 chances and frankly speaking, there is much more to him than these stats suggest. It is important for someone like him to step up and deliver at a time the Pride Park Stadium is echoing for a resurgence.
3. Treat Their Mental Weaknesses
If there is an intangible on which it is of paramount importance for the Rams to work on is their psychological disorder of making comebacks. Derby County have come back only once from behind in the 2016-17 campaign of the Sky Bet Championship and from what has been inked in the pages of history, top quality sides need to grind results in their favour despite their adverse position during the outings.
Conceding the first goal have apparently tranquillized them more often than not and thus, it is important for the senior pros and the gaffer to instil back the sense of confidence and commitment to meet their team’s needs.
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
