James Collins has been hailed as ‘so important’ for Derby County after their win over Burton Albion.
James Collins joined Derby County from Cardiff City following their relegation in 2022 – netting eleven goals in his first campaign with the club.
The Rams then brought in Martyn Waghorn, Conor Washington and Tyreece John-Jules to challenge for a place in the starting line-up, but Collins took on the healthy competition very well and has already beaten his goal tally from last season.
The striker has 12 goals in 26 games in the third tier, as well as netting a further five in five Football League Trophy ties.
Derby now sit third in the League One table, with only goal difference separating them from the automatic promotion spots. Collins has played a key role in their brilliant form as of late, with his goal against Burton Albion last night making it four goals in his last three games.
Leigh Curtis of Derbyshire Live has admitted that Collins is ‘so important’ to Paul Warne’s side this season, following another impressive display in their 3-2 win over The Brewers.
After giving the 33-year-old a 7.5 rating for his performance, Curtis said: “The forward worked incredibly hard all night and he is so important as he often sets the tone with how much he puts into the game. Always in there, always fighting and got his reward with a goal.”
Can James Collins lead Derby County to the Championship?
James Collins has taken his performances to another level this season and could well provide the firepower needed for Derby County to finally achieve promotion back to the Championship, after last year’s failed attempt.
The forward has won the third-most headers in the squad (142), as well as bagging twice as many goals as second top scorer, Martyn Waghorn and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (6).
While Collins is set to turn 34 years old at the end of the year, he only seems to be getting better for The Rams and will be a vital piece of the puzzle if Paul Warne can lead this team to the second tier.
Collins is already very familiar with winning promotion – having finished as League Two runners-up twice with Shrewsbury Town, before winning the league title with Northampton Town the following year. He then won promotion from League Two again with Luton Town, before achieving promotion to the Championship the following season.