Some Derby County supporters have taken to Twitter to call for an improvement from Tom Lawrence.
In the pre-match press conference ahead of Derby’s clash with Cardiff City, manager Phillip Cocu talked about Lawrence after he was deployed as a centre-forward for Wales this week.
Cocu believes the former Leicester City man has the tools to thrive in several roles. Lawrence mostly features out on the left side for the Rams, but he’s arguably better in central areas.
Derby supporters, however, feel Lawrence should instead work on his consistency in one role as opposed to the player being called upon to provide quality in several different positions.
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Why Tom Lawrence has a weight of expectation at Derby County:
Tom Lawrence signed for the Rams from Leicester City for £5 million in 2017.
He was largely seen as a direct replacement for Tom Ince who signed for Huddersfield Town in the Premier League.
This was arguably an unfair amount of pressure to place on Lawrence. After all, Ince was an excellent Championship player, scoring 26 goals and grabbing 14 assists in two seasons at Pride Park.
Lawrence, meanwhile, arrived as 23-year-old and has been unable to shake off that expectation. Over the past two years, he has netted 12 goals and grabbed nine assists.
The now 25-year-old started the season on fire. He netted twice in the 2-1 win at Huddersfield, while posting three successful take-ons and winning five free kicks.
Lawrence set the bar to such a high standard at Huddersfield. Unfortunately, supporters have been keen to see repeat performances, but so far they haven’t been forthcoming.