Former Derby County captain Igor Stimac has made a bold prediction on where he wants to see Paul Warne’s side competing in the future.
Derby County are a club moving in the right direction again after David Clowes completed his takeover of the club in July 2022.
The Rams, under the ownership of Mel Morris, were close to going out of business altogether until Clowes stepped in and saved them.
Since then, plenty of work has gone on behind the scenes to get the football club back on a stable footing. The first season saw Paul Warne and a host of new players arrive at Pride Park and although Derby narrowly missed out on the play-offs, they are eyeing up promotion this time around.
A place in the division’s top two remains the aim and with 10 games left to go, Derby find themselves a point behind second-place Bolton Wanderers.
With the season on a knife edge, Warne’s men have a fantastic opportunity to return to the Championship at the second time of asking, however, former Rams captain Igor Stimac dreams of the club going one step further.
Igor Stimac dreams of seeing Derby County reach the Premier League
Stimac holds legendary status at Pride Park and his connection to the club is unwavering.
The no-nonsense centre-back, who earned 56 caps for the Croatian national team, captained Derby during the late 90s when they solidified themselves as a Premier League side.
Those watching the Rams during that era would have seen the defender put blood, sweat and tears into his performances for the club and now shows a similar vein of support off the pitch.
Since retiring from the game, he still keeps a close eye on how the club are doing in League One and hopes that one day Warne and Clowes will not only lead them back into the top flight but stay there and win trophies.
“It’s obvious now that Paul Warne is doing an amazing job together with David Clowes,” Stimac told the i. “I just hope they will take us back to where we belong – the Premier League.
“We are in great position at the moment and hopefully we can hold on and get direct promotion.
“Getting back to the Premier League requires lots of quality work and patience, not to forget financial support. But just going back there shouldn’t be our final dream. Staying there and winning things, that’s where I want to see my Rams in the future.”
Why not dream big
Look, it does seem far-fetched for Stimac to outline his ambitions of the Rams winning trophies, but that is the dream of almost every football fan, no matter the level.
As a football club and fanbase, Derby are a large institution and some may say that they belong in the Premier League, but similar could be said for fellow League One rivals Portsmouth.
Of course, Clowes has got off on the right foot instantly and the latest accounts released by the club show that he’s running it sustainably, unlike his predecessor.
This is a positive sign for Derby heading into the future and while their instant focus is winning promotion back to the second tier, why can’t they dream of reaching the top flight again for the first time since 2008?