Derby star demands team to step up to the mark ahead of East Midlands Derby
Nothing will give Nottingham Forest supporters greater pleasure than beating Derby County at the City Ground this weekend, holing the Rams promotion hopes along the way.
With little cheer in their own campaign so far, Forest, who languish in the 15th place, revel in the repeated failures of their local rivals in their promotion chases down the years.
And the Rams are the gift which keeps on giving for the Trent End. Wednesday night’s 1 – 1 draw at Queens Park Rangers was another fail for County, bringing their run to six without victory and two wins in 10.
Richard Keogh, 31, told Derby’s RamsTV that they must get back on track quickly.
“There would be no better place than Forest on Sunday to get that win that we want.”
The Republic of Ireland international claimed that the players thought they were back to winning ways at Loftus Road. “It was a tight game and we dealt with everything that they threw at us,” he said. “It was just unfortunate to concede right at the end, especially after being so comfortable.”
Losing at the City Ground is not an option for the defender, who moved to Pride Park in 2012 and he’s aware of what the matches mean to the fans.
“I have played in all of the games against Forest since I joined Derby are they are amazing to be part of. We know what to expect from these derby matches; we need to be ready for it and come Sunday we will be.”
More importantly, Keogh remains optimistic that promotion is still very much on the cards.
“There’s ten matches remaining and plenty of points left. We have to play quite a few teams in-and-around us; it’s exciting and gives us an opportunity to take some points off of them.”
At the moment, that is looking on the bright side of life. Defeat on Sunday may cast a cloudier picture with Middlesbrough and Preston North End, two teams they face before the end of the season, within four points of the Rams.
Wolves, Aston Villa and Cardiff City provide stern tests in the future; Sunday may be the toughest game of all.
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