Lampard: Rams underdogs for promotion
FRANK Lampard believes his Derby County team are the underdogs in the Championship’s promotion battle.
Saturday’s hard-earned 1-0 victory over Wigan Athletic lifted the Rams to third before they dropped to fourth following Sheffield United’s 2-0 win at Reading.
Derby are on the same points as the Blades, 37 from 21 games.
Leeds United are second on 42 points, one behind leaders Norwich City.
One point below Derby in fifth are West Bromwich Albion, who have the same number of points as Middlesbrough in sixth.
Derby’s next opponents, Nottingham Forest (34 points), and Aston Villa (32) complete the top eight.
Asked for his thoughts on the table, Lampard said: “I’m pleased. We
sit fourth but I think it’s one of those where we are underdogs for the promotion places because of what I just said about funds (that Derby do not have the funds of some other teams in the Championship).
“I watched West Brom v Villa on Friday night. West Brom are freshly relegated, with Premier League players, while Villa have spent a lot over the past couple of years and had some really good loan players that we wouldn’t have been able to get, in terms of our wage bill.
“And there are others (teams), so I’m not trying to build a picture or anything, it’s just a fact.
“So what we have to do is work really, really hard to stay in the game. Being fourth is certainly staying in the game and I’m proud of them for that but it’s a long, long season and there’s so much work to do to try to stay around that level.”