BUZZING! Lampard ready for his first Rams v Forest derby,
MANAGER EXPECTS PRIDE PARK TO BE ‘BUZZING’
FRANK Lampard wants his Derby County players to embrace the emotion of tonight’s clash against rivals Nottingham Forest but balance that by keeping a cool head.
The first A52 showdown of the season takes place at Pride Park Stadium and is being screened live on TV. It will be Lampard’s first taste of the fixture, as it will be for a number of the Derby players.
Defenders Jayden Bogle, Fikayo Tomori and Scott Malone, midfielder Mason Mount and forwards Harry Wilson and Jack Marriott are set to play in the game for the first time.
“I would be lying to you if I said it was just another game,” said Lampard.
“I understand some would maybe try and play it down but I think it is something we need to tap into.
“We can’t turn away from the fact we are two teams challenging close to each other - but the history is even bigger than that and what it means to the fans.
“I certainly feel it and I don’t think there is anything wrong with the players feeling it. “They should balance out the emotion with a cool head to try and perform in the game, without a doubt, but why not get excited?
“The whole place should be buzzing, for both sets of fans.”
Asked how he handled playing in derby matches for Chelsea, West Ham United and Manchester City, Lampard said: “I sucked it in, I enjoyed it.
“I read the press, I spoke to fans, I spoke in the dressing room before about what it meant to us. You have to feel it.
“There is no point in shying away from it because the moment you treat this as a normal game and potentially treat it a little bit passively as if it is not that special, then when the other team comes flying at you, then you have an issue.
“I tried to take in the atmosphere and tried to use it in the right way.”
On the role Derby’s experienced players like Richard Keogh, Tom Huddlestone and Craig Bryson can play in tonight’s game, Lampard said: “As a manager, and staff, we can only do so much and when the players step over the line they have to perform, get their heads right and the player who has been there and done it has a responsibility to speak to some players who haven’t done it before.
“We have a lot of young players, we know this season is a young squad, they will be excited by the prospect of the game but they also need to deliver. If the lads who have been there before can have a few words pre-game then they should to get us fully prepared.”
They should balance out the emotion with a cool head to try and perform in the game, without a doubt, but why not get excited? Frank Lampard