Cambridge United boss Garry Monk has issued his verdict on Derby County ahead of this weekend’s showdown.
Derby County are on the brink of securing promotion back to the Championship, currently holding a three-point lead over third-place Bolton Wanderers. They only need four points from their remaining two games to secure promotion.
While Bolton’s manager Ian Evatt is focused on the playoffs, Paul Warne isn’t taking anything for granted and emphasizes the need to stay focused and keep working hard.
On the other hand, Cambridge United, led by Garry Monk, are fighting to avoid relegation from League One and still need one more win to ensure their survival.
This sets the stage for an intriguing battle at the Cledara Abbey Stadium, where Derby’s superior position on paper is challenged by the determination of both Cambridge United and Warne’s team to achieve their respective goals.
Garry Monk explains why he fears Derby County
Saturday’s match promises excitement as Monk’s Cambridge United looks to implement a play-from-the-back strategy, contrasting Derby’s strength in counterattacks.
Monk acknowledges that Cambridge will need to deliver an exceptional performance to overcome Derby, who boast the third-best away record in the division, trailing only Portsmouth and Barnsley.
Derby has been particularly formidable against teams ranked 10th or lower, winning nine out of 14 matches and keeping an impressive nine clean sheets.
Interestingly, Monk doesn’t focus on these statistics as reasons to fear Derby. Instead, he highlights the quality that Derby brings to the pitch and recognizes the challenge his team faces.
In an interview with the Cambridge official YouTube channel, Monk expressed, “They are one of the highest quality squads in the league and they are where they are for a reason. I think they are really strong, physically strong, energetic, and they’ve got some quality, a lot of individual quality so we’re going to have to go above and beyond what we’ve produced already in the good games we’ve done. We’re probably going to have to go above that to get the result we want.”
Derby County’s individual quality will make the difference
Warne has set his side up in a 3-5-2 system in the last two matches, prevailing with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leyton Orient last weekend.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and James Collins played next to each other up top while Liam Thompson was given license to float in behind.
In a game of this magnitude, the Derby boss will call on his quality operators to make the difference.
On their day, Mendez-Laing and Collins can blow away any team in the division having scored 27 goals between them in all competitions.
The Rams have also scored the second most goals on their travels (36) in League One, so it is no wonder Monk is fearful of the visitors’ quality.
Let’s hope they can deliver tomorrow afternoon and ensure Derby step one foot into the Championship.
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