May the force be with Roo in Ram fight
WAYNE KEY SAYS ALLSOP
DERBY keeper Ryan Allsop reckons Wayne Rooney’s strength of character can lead the Rams to Championship survival this season.
The EFL have given stricken Derby’s administrators an extra month to prove they have the funds to see out the season.
That means today’s clash with Birmingham won’t be the club’s last game – as some supporters had feared.
Allsop and his Pride Park team-mates are doing everything they can to keep the off-the-field drama out of their heads. And manager Rooney, a former England skipper, is playing a major part in helping them do just that – as well as giving them an occasional glimpse of his old skills in training.
Allsop said: “He has taken a few penalties and free-kicks against me. It’s always good to see the quality he still has. He gives his knowledge to the forwards and we obviously do our best to combat that.
“Of course, he’s a strong character as well and he has transmitted that to the team. It’s shown in what we’re trying to do and our style of play.
“We want to get on the ball and play out from the back and make the right decisions when they are there to be made.
“You need to be mentally strong to play this way and, 100 percent, that comes from the gaffer and the staff and their trust and belief in us to go and do that.
“So in terms of mental strength and fight, there’s stuff going on that we have to deal with but we try to put it to the back of our minds as much as possible because it is out of our control. You still need to be mentally strong to be able to do that, and the lads are doing themselves proud at the moment.
“All we can do is keep fighting and try to get as many wins as possible.”
The fact Derby still have a glimmer of hope of surviving relegation after being hit with a 21-point deduction this season is a testament to the hard work they are putting in under rookie boss Rooney, who was strongly linked with a return to Everton as Rafa Benitez’s replacement. And even a defeat by bitter rivals Nottingham Forest last weekend wasn’t as hard to take for fans as it would normally have been given the issues at hand.
Allsop (left) added: “There were things we could have done better as a team and we acknowledge that.
“But you can’t overlook our fight and our desire to work hard for each other and put everything into what we’re trying to do.
“The Forest game will teach us good lessons and hopefully we can take those into the games to come.”
The Rams today take on the team Birmingham-born Allsop grew up supporting.
He said: “It is always a fixture I look forward to because my dad still supports Birmingham, although I think he supports me more.
“Hopefully there’ll be a few family there, my mum and dad will be there. I’m going to ask my little boy if he wants to come – but he’s only six so he’ll probably say no.”