BRYSON TARGET IS STILL SPOT ON
Penalty fluff will not halt goal rush
CRAIG Bryson’s penalty miss against Birmingham may have landed him in a spot of bother but the Derby midfielder says he’s happy with his goal tally this season.
Had his St Andrew’s spot-kick gone in last weekend it would have taken him to 13 this term – unluckily for the Scotland international it culminated in two valuable points dropped for the Rams as the Blues battled back for a 3-3 draw.
And with promotion rivals QPR heading to Pride Park on Monday night, the 27year-old Bryson reveals he’s been taken off penalty duties for the foreseeable future.
“After that game I think it is fair to say I’m off penalties, the way I hit the penalty was really disappointing,” he said.
“I had been taking loads in training and smashing them all in but when it came to the game I obviously just didn’t hit it well enough.”
Crucial
Bryson had already come in for some stick from teammates after his purple patch in front of goal dried up in January.
That was before a crucial strike against Yeovil at the end of last month helped earn a 3-2 win – and he’s hoping to kick on.
“I am delighted with how many I have scored this season and with 17 games to go I just want to try and score as many as I can,” added Bryson, who has already smashed his pre-season target of ten goals this season.
“Before my goal against Yeovil the goals seemed to dry up but I didn’t let it bother me too much, some of the players were giving me a bit of stick.
“I haven’t set myself any new targets but now I’m quite confident that I can score in every game that I go into.
“I think as a team we can win every game but obviously in the Championship it is not going to be plain sailing.
“When you are playing teams around you in the league the main thing is to not let them beat you and allow them to open up a gap.
“We know they (QPR) are a really big outfit and we will need to be at the top of our game to get something out of it.
“It is a big game for both teams and I would think that both teams will be trying to go for the win and take all three points.
“The staff and players have confidence from our performances and we believe we can win every game, so the QPR game will be no different.”
Derby have no fresh injury concerns going into the game and boss Steve McClaren is set to name an unchanged side.
But former Kilmarnock enforcer Bryson has issued a warning after seeing Federico Macheda earn a last-minute leveller last time out.
“When we take the lead we need to be a bit more street wise and see games out more ruthlessly,” he continued.“We are disappointed because we should have seen the game out but then again it is another point gained leading up to the game on Monday.
“Teams are now seeing us as a scalp and are constantly trying to get points off us but against Birmingham it was more down to our own downfall.”