Paul Warne issues Derby County squad concern as they prepare for Championship step-up

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Derby County manager Paul Warne took the Rams back to the Championship earning promotion after two seasons in League One.

He has a squad of 24 players at his disposal with many making up the team that the Derby boss led to promotion last season.

The Rams have made seven signings addressing needs in central midfield and attacking areas, furthermore, Derby are waiting to sign Jacob Widell Zetterstrom from Djurgardens – who will greatly improve the goalkeeper slot.

However, the step up to the Championship is huge; Ipswich Town are one of just four teams in the history of the Premier League to earn back-to-back promotion from League One to the top division.

Paul Warne believes he needs to add more to his squad if the Rams are to cope with their Championship return.

Paul Warne’s concern about stepping up to the Championship

The former Rotherham United manager has said that the increase in quality can be hard for promoted sides to deal with, especially if they don’t have a Championship calibre squad.

Derby open their new season against Blackburn Rovers on Friday 9 August which will be Warne’s 100th game in charge.

During his pre-match press conference, he said: “There’s an increase in quality. If you look at the starting line-ups for everyone this weekend, they’ve got 20 solid Championship players.

“When you go up, you have to try and sign as many players as you can who can play at that level.”

The Rams currently have 17 players with Championship experience, however many of them are coming to the tail end of their such as James Collins and Conor Washington.

Paul Warne’s Championship experience

Warne has a strong record in League One earning three promotions with Rotherham before joining Derby.

However, the Derby boss’ Championship results haven’t been so good. The 51-year-old was relegated three times with the Millers and knows how difficult the step up to the Championship can be.