‘FOREST ARE SPROUTING ROOTS OF RECOVERY’

AITOR KARANKA has warned Derby that his Nottingham Forest side are getting stronger by the game.

The Reds might be 17 points adrift of their East Midlands rivals heading into tomorrow’s derby duel – but they are in better form.

Forest have gone five games unbeaten as Karanka’s new-look squad – which saw 10 new faces including Ben Watson, Jack Colback and Lee Tomlin recruited in January – starts to gel. Now boss Karanka hopes they can take another forward step against the fifth-placed Rams. The Spaniard said: “We are getting stronger as a team in every game. “The last few weeks have been really tough for all of them. It is not just physically, it is mentally challenging. “I hope that playing on Sunday will give us the time to recover well and be 100 per cent. I know how big this game is for everyone. The players are doing well, the spirit of the team is good and they are improving as a team.”

Andreas Weimann insisted that a fiery clash with Forest could be just what stuttering Derby need – after going six games without a win.

The Austria forward said: “No one in the team will need any geeing up for this game.

“Hopefully, we can get the win we need so much against Forest. We beat them earlier in the season, but they have some new players now and I expect it to be a tight game.”