Derby County cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Exeter City last night and now Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has revealed what he loved about the away support.
A long trip to Devon on a Tuesday night had the potential to be a banana skin for Derby. Exeter are difficult to beat at home having only conceded 13 goals in their first 16 matches at St James Park.
Paul Warne’s side are made of sterner stuff these days, though, and they came away with a rampant 3-0 win over the Grecians as three fantastic goals from Max Bird, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Tom Barkhuizen kept the Rams inside the automatic promotion places.
Derby have been strong on their travels this term as they enjoy breaking on the counter-attack with the quality they have in wide areas while Ebou Adams has solidified their midfield.
Indeed, they are joint top of the away table in League One with 35 points from 17 matches.
Mendez-Laing, who took his tally to nine goals for the season with his deft lob, believes the reason why Derby are so strong away from Pride Park is down to their excellent away support.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing praises Derby fans
Speaking to Rams TV after the match, the former Cardiff City winger waxed lyrical about the support his team received from the away end and was thankful he could help reward them with three points.
He said: “I love the away following. It always feels like a home game. Our supporters are unbelievable and I’m buzzing that we could get two goals in front of them tonight.”
To bring 1,300 supporters on a cold Tuesday night to Exeter is a testament to how well-supported Derby are and the fans deserve huge credit for turning out in their numbers.
Mendez-Laing has supplied that praise, but the biggest reward he and his teammates could give supporters is a promotion at the end of the season.
Derby fans deserve promotion
Derby fans have been through so much turmoil in recent times and although their fortunes have improved since David Clowes tookover the club, promotion would cap off what has been a great season.
The Rams, like many other clubs, can’t afford to be stuck in the third tier for another campaign and promotion is seen as a must.
After missing out on the play-offs by a single point last term, supporters couldn’t go through more heartbreak this time around.
With Derby occupying second position, automatic promotion is a real possibility and their fate this season will be defined by their crucial matches against Bolton Wanderers in March and Portsmouth in April.
If they come out of those fixtures unscathed, supporters could begin to dream of Championship football.