Paul Warne’s Derby County plays a defensive style of football with a tough-to-beat attitude that helped them earn promotion to the Championship.
Derby finished last season with the best defensive record in League One conceding just 37 goals in 46 games.
Paul Warne and his team come off the back of an impressive 1-0 win against promotion favourites Middlesbrough.
A man-of-the-match performance by Josh Vickers was to thank for Derby’s win after the keeper made several saves which kept the game at 1-0.
The Middlesbrough win was a typical Warne performance which has helped the Rams to an impressive record in 2024.
Derby County top 2024 clean sheets charts
Warne’s Derby are currently top of the charts in clean sheets in 2024. Following an impressive season in League One, the Rams already have one clean sheet after two games back in the Championship.
The Rams have 13 clean sheets in 2024 beating out Arsenal, Manchester City and Leeds to the top spot. For Derby to comfortably survive relegation, Paul Warne will hope for more of the same moving forward.
The two players to thank for Derby County’s clean sheet record
The centre-back partnership of Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson has been vital to Derby’s success this year.
The Rams kept eight clean sheets during the past 10 games where Cashin and Nelson have started together.
| Player Name | Appearances since start of 2023/24 | Tackles won (per game) | Interceptions (per game) | Average match rating |
| Curtis Nelson | 48 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 7.03 |
| Eiran Cashin | 45 | 2 | 1.6 | 6.92 |
22-year-old Cashin made the PFA League One Team of the Year on Tuesday night which comes as no surprise when you look at the numbers.
On top of that, Nelson was awarded Derby’s Player of the Season award in May, the two combined make for a solid wall in Warne’s defence.