Paul Warne shares what Derby County squad will do during international break after smashing his target

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For better or worse, we are now in another international break, and Paul Warne has revealed what he has planned for the Derby County squad over the next fortnight as they prepare for the trip to Preston North End.

Prior to the latest pause on the domestic season, Derby County had registered a topsy-turvy sequence of results, including four draws, one win, and one defeat in their last six games.

That leaves Paul Warne’s side in 12th place in the Championship table, but they are just as close to the relegation zone as they are to pushing for a play-off place as things stand.

Warne has got plenty of things right so far this season (and some things wrong), but judging by his latest comments to the press, the Derby County boss has got the perfect plan to get his team ready for their next game.

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Paul Warne wants his players to have a rest

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, Warne discussed the schedule behind the scenes for Derby over the next two weeks, and revealed there will be a good balance of rest and recovery mixed with some intense sessions.

“They’ll be in Tuesday and Wednesday and then… No [extra day off]. They needed to get four points from two games and they went and cheated the system and got three in midweek,” Warne said. “They will just be in Tuesday and Wednesday, and in that time they will play a game.

“And then the training ground for us will be shut Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then we’ll have a good week lead in. I need the players to have good physical rest and a psychological rest, as I do my staff, they work more hours than anyone,” he added.

It is unknown at this stage what that game will entail exactly, whether it will be an internal friendly or a pre-arranged fixture against a more competitive opposition. Either way, it appears the Derby players will be well-rested, before stepping up their preparations next week.

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Festive period is crunch time for Derby County

Derby have performed well so far this season and their fans should be very pleased to be sat in midtable with a third of the season gone.

Once this international break is out of the way, that’s when things really go up a gear for clubs in the Championship, with the relentless festive fixture list set to be a test for Derby County.

Coming off the international break, the Rams will be looking to take maximum points from the games against Preston, Swansea, and Sheffield Wednesday. But, they will then face incredibly stern tests against promotion-chasing Leeds United and Burnley.

Friday the 13th may be unlucky for some, but Derby will be hoping they can see off relegation candidates Portsmouth at Pride Park that night, to really get them in a strong position heading into the Christmas period and beyond.

Taking 12 points from their next six games would be huge for Derby and Warne, but doing so would very likely have the Rams chasing a play-off spot rather than looking over their shoulders at the teams near the bottom of the league.