Derby County boss Paul Warne has issued a warning to his players ahead of their clash against Blackpool tomorrow afternoon.
As we enter the final stretch of a physically taxing campaign, the mental strength of a player is tested to its maximum and after losing against Northampton Town last time out, Derby County must respond at home to Blackpool.
The Rams still have their automatic promotion fate in their hands having established a four-point lead on Bolton Wanderers, although Ian Evatt’s side can close the gap to just one by winning their game in hand.
Derby have overcome several difficult hurdles to put themselves in a prominent position, with a recent victory over Bolton at Pride Park being the most significant.
Paul Warne‘s side secured three points by a one-goal margin on that day but achieving similar against Blackpool won’t be easy. The Tangerines are bearing down on the play-offs having pulled off magnificent results and performances against Portsmouth, Peterborough and Bolton.
Paul Warne believes Blackpool clash will be ‘tough’
Derby have played Blackpool twice this term, losing to Neil Critchley’s men 2-0 in the Carabao Cup before comfortably dispatching them 3-1 at Bloomfield Road thanks to goals from Korey Smith, James Collins and Martyn Waghorn.
After watching them take points off their promotion rivals, Warne isn’t taking their threat lightly and believes their test tomorrow afternoon will be as ‘tough’ as the Bolton match.
“They are good. I’ve always liked their squad, their players and I like Neil Critchley,” Warne told Derby’s official website.
“At home in the Carabao Cup in August, they embarrassed us and I’ll openly admit that. We played well away from home in October and beat them at their place. In recent weeks they have beaten Bolton Wanderers, Peterborough United and drew with Portsmouth, so they are a side that seem to do very well against the better teams.
“This is as tough as the Bolton home game looked the other week and we have to be ready for it.”
Blackpool could be a tougher match than Bolton
Having watched the visitors take the scalps of several quality sides at this level, it is entirely possible that their clash against Blackpool tomorrow afternoon could be tougher than the Bolton match.
Despite arriving three points behind the play-offs, there is little pressure on Critchley’s side to win, whereas Bolton had the pressure of chasing down the Rams given they were trailing by a point.
The visitors can play with freedom, counter-attacking at pace through the incredible Karamoko Dembele while aiming to silence the crowd at Pride Park.
We’re entering a period where every game is difficult, and while the Tangerines are seven places below Derby in the table, they shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Charlton Athletic were in rotten form when they travelled to Derbyshire at the end of February, but they executed a gameplan that saw the relegation fighters come away with a shock 2-1 victory.
It shows that no team at this level should be taken lightly, and it’s good that Warne acknowledges Blackpool’s threat.