Former Derby County star Shaun Barker has said that ‘there is an expectation’ on the Rams to play well at Pride Park.
The Rams picked up their second home win in League One on Tuesday night, when they beat Exeter City 2-0.
The three points came courtesy of goals from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Conor Washington, which pushed Derby up to eighth in the table, two points off of the playoffs.
Barker on Derby’s home form
Speaking on the club’s YouTube channel, Barker spoke on how important it is for the Rams to have good form at home.
“There was [unease around Pride Park ahead of the Exeter game] and that has been built up from the start of the season by not having consistent performances and results at Pride Park.
“Ignore the away performances because that’s been good and we have had generally positive results and positive performances away from home.
“There is an expectation when you are at home.
“When you are playing for a club like Derby County, it is not necessarily to win every game but there is an expectation to perform and entice the crowd into anticipating what’s going to happen next.
“We want goals, we want to celebrate with the players and you get that by scoring goals and being positive.”
Derby’s home form needs to improve
Shaun Barker is right in saying that the Rams do have the pressure to play well at home.
But this season the Rams have not been very good at home at all, only winning two of their six home league games this season.
They have the fifth worst home form in League One so far, but have the second best away record.So if Paul Warne’s can replicate their away form at PridePark, there is no reason why Derby should not be pushing toward the top of the table.