Mount is relishing a first taste of rivalry with Forest
MASON Mount is relishing the prospect of playing in his first Derby County v Nottingham Forest showdown.
The Rams take on their closest rivals at Pride Park Stadium on Monday night (7.45pm).
Mount is on a season-long loan with Derby from Premier League Chelsea.
The 19-year-old is enjoying his first season of senior football in England – and is set for a first experience of the “A52 derby”.
The fixture is always fiercely contested and the fact both sides are pushing for promotion adds extra spice to this season’s opening meeting between the clubs.
Just because Mount is on loan at Derby does not mean the importance of the occasion is lost on him. “I definitely feel like a Derby player,” said the midfielder. “The Forest game is massive and speaking to the boys and what they’ve said about the past games, it means so much.
“I’m definitely up for it and part of that.
“When you join a club, I think you forget about where you’ve come from.
“You’re at the club and focused on what you need to do here.
“You can’t really think about anything else. That’s how I feel. “When the derby is coming up, the main focus is to win that game, for the fans.
“It’s the biggest game of the season.” Mount has made 23 appearances for Derby in all competitions this season, scoring five goals. The Rams are currently fourth in the table, three points ahead of seventh-placed Forest.
Mason Mount
SCOTT Carson believes Monday’s showdown between Derby County and Nottingham Forest will have even more riding on it than usual.
“It’s always a massive game, wherever we are in the table, but we’re pretty close at the minute, so it should be a really good game,” said the Rams goalkeeper.
“We’ve all seen them on telly. They’re a really good, improved side, so we’ll need to be at our best.
“Obviously, it’s never easy in a derby and this is going to be a really tough game.”
Derby have claimed back-to-back victories and have a good recent record against Forest.
They are unbeaten in five meetings, since a 1-0 defeat at the City Ground in November 2015.
That was Carson’s first taste of the “A52 derby” but, since then, he has helped the Rams to three wins and two draws against Forest.
Last season, Matej Vydra’s goal after only 24 seconds inspired Derby to a 2-0 success at Pride Park, Carson’s 100th appearance for the club, while the return was a 0-0 draw.
“I’ve played in a few now and it’s always a good atmosphere,” he added.
“Hopefully, the end result will be the same as our last couple of games.”