BATTLING COUNTY DELIGHT DARREN
DARREN Bent is confident that the fight shown by Derby County to record a run of seven straight wins proves things are moving in the right direction.
With Steve McClaren in his second stint in charge, Derby have risen from 20th place into the play-offs in a matter of weeks.
Derby’s 1-0 win over QPR in midweek stretched their winning streak to seven with their last defeat coming against Huddersfield in October.
Tom Ince got the vital goal in the 86th minute at Loftus Road, his seventh of the campaign.
The club’s five most recent victories all came with clean sheets and Bent was quick to praise the defenders in the squad.
“We are on a fantastic run,” he said. “Maybe in the past people would say if they stopped us playing football we couldn’t get a result or that we didn’t want to fight.
“Now we’re showing that we are prepared to fight and battle for wins if that’s what it takes.
“Everyone’s pulling for each other and it’s a good place to be. We’re all happy with how things are going and, importantly, we’re keeping clean sheets as well.
“The defensive players have been fantastic, especially away from home.”