Let’s charge at Rams with energetic display
I DON’T think many of us saw that coming – that bitterly disappointing performance against Cardiff City.
The last hour against Fulham was excellent and, while we didn’t exactly pull up any trees against QPR, defensively we kept them to just one Hugill effort in the first half.
Then we really didn’t turn up against Cardiff, simple as that.
I watched the game on the red button which, I have to say, is a fantastic facility from Sky Sports Football.
You can pick any EFL game you want to watch on a Tuesday or Wednesday and it’s a great way of staying in touch with all that’s happening.
There were some nice touches from Town early on, and good energy.
But within the first few minutes, Elias Kachunga had an air shot and, not long after, so did Steve Mounie.
Once again, I thought to myself, without Karlan Grant we haven’t got a goal in us.
He really is so important to everything Town do, so if there is any chance of his injury becoming worse by playing at Derby County, I would give him the extra few days needed.
We are going to need at least half a dozen goals from him during the run-in and, of course, the two home games later this month against Bristol City and Charlton are where we want him at his best.
Young Emile Smith Rowe, once again, showed some good touches and energy, but we just need to try and get him further up the field.
As Danny Cowley said, we were powder-puff in attack – and I think that was being kind.
You have to be just as aggressive in the opposition box as you are when defending in your own – and we just weren’t at the races in the Cardiff game.
But this has been the story of Town’s season to a certain extent, and you could see on the sidelines that no-one was more disappointed than manager Cowley.
The sheer frustration on his face said everything.
It is so tough when you work with players all week but then, when it really matters, they just aren’t able to re-create the intensity which you’ve seen on the training ground.
All managers have that problem and, when you see your team being fantastic for half an hour before they fall asleep for an hour – all in the same 90 minutes – no wonder Cowley was left scratching his head.
When you watch a lot of Championship football you very quickly realise the fine lines between success and failure.
It’s a bit of a cliché talking about mental strength – but it’s the sort of thing you see from players like Jonathan Hogg every single week.
The younger players coming through – and indeed everyone in the side – should taken on board that intensity and make sure they are doing the job themselves.
Hoggy and Lewis O’Brien are working their socks off to keep us in games and we have to start manning up a bit. Cardiff weren’t particularly great, they just had a few old pros who knew what they were all about.
There is now no easy task at Derby, who have the second best home record in the Championship.
Only Millwall and Bristol City have taken full points off them at Pride Park this season, and that is some impressive record.
We showed at Fulham, however, that we are more than capable if everyone gets on the same page from the first minute.
So let’s be positive, especially as we still have the gap to the relegation places.
Four or five wins will probably be enough to keep us up. That’s where I’m looking and I’m sure Cowley is doing the same.
Let’s hope we can come away with a point from Pride Park – I would take that now – but more importantly let’s see a performance packed with aggression, energy and enthusiasm.
If we can add a bit of quality as well, then we are as good as most teams in the Championship.