DERBY County boss Nigel Clough is looking forward to getting back to turning Pride Park into something of a fortress after a month without playing on home turf.
The postponement of the East Midlands derby against Nottingham Forest means the Rams have not played at home since the 1-0 win over Coventry City on January 14 — a month ago today.
They host Reading tonight, kick-off 7.45pm, and while Clough will be setting his side up to claim all three points, he says not losing is crucial.
He said: “It seems a long time since we played at home, exactly a month.
“It’s nice to be back after the disappointment of the Forest game being postponed.
“Looking ahead, in the next five or six I think we’ve got quite a few at home, which is good.
“You get your point away from home and then you look forward to being at home.
“We’ve got to get into the mentality of not losing.
“You want to win, of course you do, but you need to make sure you don’t lose.
“Once again, we’ll go for the three points, and if you can’t get them, you try and stay unbeaten.
“It’s one of the things we’ve tried to address from previous seasons. We’re at that stage where nobody is going to beat us easily.
“Whoever it is is going to have to work very hard to score a goal against us.”
The Rams’ next five games all come against sides chasing promotion from the Championship, with tonight’s match against Reading followed by a trip to second- placed Southampton on Saturday and then clashes against Leicester City, Birmingham City and Blackpool.
However, Clough believes that with recent wins over the likes of West Ham United, Leeds United and Hull City, his side have shown they can mix it with the best in the league.
He said: “They are all difficult in the Championship, but Reading are in good form at the moment and Southampton are one of the top teams in the division.
“It’s a couple of nice tests and it’s lovely to go into it with a clean sheet again.
“I think we’ve done pretty well against a whole range of teams in the league this season.
“The first half at Barnsley we hope is a blip, and the performance on Saturday seemed to back that up.
“Out of the last 10, to only lose two games is progress.
“We want to stay in the top half, that was our aim all along after fighting relegation for three seasons.
“It’s a step in the right direction that we’re not doing that.” Derby returned to keeping a clean sheet in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Millwall after shipping three goals against Barnsley last week, and have now recorded a shut-out in five of their last six league games.
And Clough was full of praise for his defence after that game, especially centrehalves Shaun Barker and Jason Shackell, and left-back Gareth Roberts.
He said: “(Millwall manager) Kenny Jackett said that the two centre-halves dealt with everything they threw at them.
“I think that Jason has done ever so well since he came in, but I think that with Shaun alongside him, he’s improved.
“Shaun has been the major difference and it’s no coincidence that since he came back fully fit on Boxing Day, we’ve tightened up defensively.
“Gareth is very steady, and I think it’s a compliment to him that he’s not making headlines, because he doesn’t make mistakes.
“He’s just going about his job, and a bit like a good referee, you don’t notice them.
“He’s a very good professional and you know what you’re going to get from him.” Nathan Tyson played 86 minutes against the Lions after recovering from injury, and should start again tonight after being allowed to only do light training yesterday.
And Clough is looking for a little bit more from the former Forest striker.
He said: “It was a good 80- odd minutes for him.
“He looked a bit rusty at times, but he’s a threat, and that’s the main thing.
“When he’s on the pitch, he can make something happen with his pace.
“So we need to get the ball to him a little bit more in the manner he wants it.
“On Saturday, the 4-3-3 worked very well, the only failing was that I didn’t think that Nathan or Jamie Ward were actually on their game to maybe go and get that goal and create that spark we wanted them to.
“We want them to stay up there and occupy their fullbacks, but it was a bit of a catand- mouse game where their full-backs were going forward.”
Ryan Noble’s loan from Sunderland ends after tonight’s match, and Clough said that they are still in discussions with the striker and the Black Cats about whether or not they would keep him.
He has started just one game since joining the Rams, and with the likes of Tyson, Theo Robinson and Steve Davies returning from injury and Callum Ball in good form, the Derby boss admitted Noble may not get much of a chance.
He said: “We’re going to have a chat with him and Sunderland later.
“We’ll see what Ryan thinks first of all, and then Sunderland control the situation, so it depends if they want him back.
“I think you can’t have too many strikers, although it’s going to be difficult for him to get a start, with Nathan Tyson and Theo Robinson fit.
“We haven’t had too many options this season, so it’s nice to have that.”
Full-back John Brayford may not be risked for tonight’s game with matches coming thick and fast, but Robinson is likely to be in the squad, as Davies could be.
Tomasz Cywka will not feature against his former club due to a gentleman’s agreement that was put in place when the Polish midfielder moved to Reading in January.
Clough said: “He wanted to try to get football to see if he could get a place in the European Championships squad for Poland in the summer.
“We couldn’t offer him that.
“He came back for pre-season in brilliant condition, fitness- wise, but he just didn’t play very well when he did get the odd opportunity.
“We realise that some players have only had the odd chance, but they have to take it when they do, and he didn’t.”
RAMS FROM: Fielding, Green, Barker, Shackell, Roberts, Carroll, Bailey, Hendrick, Bryson, Ward, Doyle, Ball, Tyson, Buxton, Legzdins, Noble, B Davies, S Davies, Robinson.
Old boy Tyson hopes to end Rams goal drought
NATHAN Tyson is looking forward to seeing some old faces when Reading visit Pride Park tonight, but is determined to take three points off his former club — and maybe even score his first Derby County goal.
The Rams striker was born in the Berkshire town and began his career with the Royals more than a decade ago.
And while he says he owes Reading much, there will be only one thing on his mind when the two clubs meet this evening, kick-off 7.45pm.
“I started my career there and it’s the club I supported as a lad — and my hometown club — so there’s a lot going on,” he said.
“I’m still in touch with people down there and if things don’t go our way tonight, I’ll get some stick on Facebook, but I’m looking forward to it.
“It was a good place to start my football career.
“However, although I do owe them something for that, I owe Derby County three points more, and maybe even a goal.”
Tyson spent five years at Reading, but never established himself in the first team, spending much of that time out on loan.
His final loan spell, at Wycombe Wanderers, led to a permanent move, and though it worked out for the 29-year-old, he admits it was a wrench to leave the Madejski Stadium.
“It was a difficult decision to leave,” he said.
“I’d been on loan at Wycombe and (then manager) Tony Adams convinced me that it was a fresh start.
“I spoke to Brian McDermott (now Reading manager, then coach) and he said that if I went to Wycombe, it could kick-start my career, and he was right.”
Tyson went on to be top scorer in his first season with the Chairboys, and was named the fans’ player of the season.
The next season, he netted 13 goals in 19 games, earning him a move to Derby’s East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest in 2005.
However, it is Reading which he remembers most fondly.
“I have some great memories of my time there, and I ended up playing for the England under-20s,” he said.
“Brian McDermott was my reserve team manager, so I spent a lot of time with him, and he was a great help.
“I was also playing with the likes of John Salako, and it was a great place to learn my football.”
Tyson’s time at Pride Park has been limited due to injury, but he started Saturday’s game at Millwall, and played 86 minutes as the Rams drew 0-0.
However, Craig Bryson missed a great chance to win the game, and Tyson said: “It’s a difficult place to go, but we should have won the game.
“For me, it was good just to get my legs going and be playing football.
“It’s been stop-start for me all season, and hopefully now I can get a run of games.
“It’s not just been physically frustrating, but mentally as well, because you’ve got to come in every day with a smile on your face.
“It’s unfortunate, but in football you get injuries, you get niggles, and there’s not a player in this whole league who goes a season without having something wrong with them.
“But I’ve got another two years on my contract, I’m very happy here and I’m not going anywhere.
“The players, the staff and the whole set up is second to none.”
