Jozwiak back but tough calls still to be made

KAMIL Jozwiak is fit for Derby County’s Championship clash against Middlesbrough.

The Polish winger missed the Rams’ defeat by Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Saturday due to an ankle injury.

He trained yesterday and is available for the game at the Riverside Stadium.

Krystian Bielik and Colin Kazim-richards did not feature in the 20-man squad on duty at Bristol.

Bielik, who is working his way back from a serious knee injury, played 80 minutes in an under-23 friendly behind closed doors on Friday afternoon.

“He came through that well and he played well in the game,” said player-coach Wayne Rooney.

“He got a good amount of minutes on the pitch. We felt it was important that if he wasn’t going to start against Bristol, he continues with his recovery from what was a very serious injury. He will be available for selection.” Kazim-richards has yet to start since joining the Rams as a free agent last month.

Asked why the striker was not in the squad at Bristol, Rooney said: “That was a decision we made and it is a tough decision when a player doesn’t travel but whoever was left behind and didn’t travel with us was going to be disappointed. “What I will say is Colin’s reaction, he trained fantastically today, his attitude was superb.

“He will be available for selection and it will be another tough decision in terms of who will be travelling and who we leave behind.” Three games in seven days presents another hugely important sequence of fixtures as Derby look to haul themselves off bottom spot in the Championship.

The trip to Middlesbrough is followed by back-to-back home matches against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday and Coventry City a week tomorrow. Wycombe are currently third from bottom on eight points, two more than Derby, and Coventry are 21st on nine points.

Derby faced crucial consecutive home fixtures earlier this month when Queens Park Rangers and Barnsley visited Pride Park Stadium.

They lost both and slumped to the foot of the table.

There can be no repeat this time, otherwise a worrying situation will look more grim.

A state of limbo is being felt as we await an imminent takeover and the appointment of a new manager following Phillip Cocu’s departure.

Both need to happen quickly and the urgency increases with each winless game.

Defeat by Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Saturday was Derby’s third on the spin, their eighth in 12 League matches this season, and they are without a victory in eight.

They have mustered only three goals in those eight games and fired another blank at the weekend.

An improvement was expected on Saturday and we would have been deeply worried had there not been.

There was but not enough – and it was accompanied by some of the same old problems that hinder the team.

The bottom line is that Derby emerged empty-handed, again.

The table is there for all to see. It makes for painful viewing and the players have to change that in this upcoming run of matches.

It will be another tough decision in terms of who will be travelling and who we leave behind.

Wayne Rooney