Derby County assistant manager Richie Barker has said that the confidence of Max Bird will have been boosted after his brace in the win over Northampton Town.
Derby dispatched Northampton 4-0 on Tuesday night at Pride Park, with Bird getting two of the goals, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Conor Washington also getting on the scoresheet.
The result eased pressure on manager Paul Warne who has been under fire after some poor performances and results in recent weeks.
It came out earlier this week though that Warne would be sticking around, as he is being backed by the board.
Barker on Bird’s performance v Northampton
Speaking to RamsTV following the win, Barker said that Bird’s brace will give him a lot of confidence.
“We always say that to be successful, we need goals from all over the pitch, from set-pieces and from midfielders. Laing is weighing in with the front players; Nat has got a couple over the last week or so; and Birdy weighed in today.
“He is enjoying the more advanced role that we are working on with him and I think he probably could have had another couple more, but tonight will really give him confidence as well.”
Bird coming into his own
Hopefully we will now see a lot more of Bird further up the pitch.
Primarily a more defensive midfielder, Warne has pushed Bird up the pitch in recent games, and it is clearly working.
It is good to see Bird back to his best and coming into his own after his recovery from an ankle injury.