Rooney: Rams can get the job done at Swans
WAYNE Rooney says the Derby County players know what they have to do as they look to secure crucial survival points.
The Rams’ penultimate fixture of the Championship season is against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Derby have 43 points. They are one place and four points above the relegation places.
Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday are both in the bottom three on 39 points. Rotherham have a game in hand on the Rams.
“We know what we have to do. There is pressure also on the other teams to pick up points. Games are running out and the other teams have to pick up points to go above us but we have to keep pushing and trying to get the win,” Rooney told Ramstv.
“If we win on Saturday it will be a huge result for us leading into our last game of the season.
“Performances are not the most important thing at this stage of the season, it is about trying to get the three points.
“Swansea aren’t in the best of form, also, so we have to go there with a belief we can win. I believe we can. We know if we play our game against them they will struggle to deal with us.”
Rooney admits a run of five consecutive defeats has knocked confidence in the camp.
“It is my job to lift that,” he said. “When you are in a bad run of form and losing games and you are towards the bottom of the table, of course confidence is low. They need lifting. It is my job. I will do that the best I can this week.
“The players are good players, they all have very good ability, so it is on me to try and make the players play with a relaxation that will make them perform better.”
Derby are set to be without defender Andre Wisdom again, while Beni Baningime, the midfielder on loan from Everton, is also sidelined.
Wisdom missed the defeat by Birmingham City due to a groin injury he picked up in the game away to Preston North End.
Baningime has a hamstring problem. He has not featured since the defeat to Cardiff City on March 2.
“I don’t think there will be any players back. There are no new injuries from the game on Saturday, so the squad will be the same,” said Rooney.
The Derby squad is training and spending a few days at a hotel in Wales to prepare for Saturday’s game at Swansea.
“I think it is important for the players to be around each other, not only on the training pitch but in the hotel, to have some time together outside of football to speak, to get things off their chest and to relax a little bit as well,” added Rooney.
“I think it is a very important time of the season and I think it is an important thing for the players to do so they have no distractions going into the game on Saturday.”