Rotherham
boss Neil Redfearn has described his side as a “dangerous animal” when they
travel to Derby this weekend, and Rams counterpart Paul Clement agrees.
The
Millers, winless in four games, are big outsiders as they travel to the iPro
Stadium to face a side who are unbeaten in eight games and beginning to make
their mark in the Sky Bet Championship.
Not many
people will give Redfearn’s men much hope of getting his first win, but seven
of the Millers’ nine points this season have come against teams currently
residing in the top eight.
And that
makes Clement wary of the underdogs.
"Rotherham,
although not in a high position in the table, are dangerous,” he told a
pre-match conference.
"I
have a statistic here in front of me that says their form against the top eight
teams puts them fifth in the league.
"They
up their game against the best teams in the league and so we have to be very
aware of that.
"If
you look at us against the bottom eight teams, we will be around 16th position,
so we have to get that right. We have to get the mental side of things absolutely
spot on in this game.”
He added
on the Rams’ expectation to win: "It is dangerous to think like that, very
dangerous.
"Who
would not want to come and play at the iPro in front of 30,000?
"We
are going to be seen as a scalp for a team that possibly have not had the
results they would have liked.
"We
certainly don't want to be that scalp.
Paul Clement speaking to the media at Moor Farm now. #dcfcfans pic.twitter.com/GjejnMLjTw— BBC Derby Sport (@BBCDerbySport) October 29, 2015
"We
have to keep our standards high and be very focused.
"We
analyse the opposition very thoroughly and make sure that information goes
into the players.”
Although
results have not been what Redfearn wanted from his first three games in at the
Millers helm, the new boss is pleased with the progress his side have made.
And he
expects his side to trouble Derby.
“We have
got to go there and put in a performance,” he said. “They are one of the form
sides of the division, they are a class outfit and they have got good players
wherever you look.
“But we
have got good players, players who can hurt you on a good day. We are just
starting to find a little bit of belief which makes us a dangerous animal.
“They’ll
have had good reports back from Reading. They’ll know we’re not mugs. They’ll
treat us with respect, I’m pretty sure of that.
“I want
us to go there and give a real performance. I want to get after them. I think
there are areas where we can really exploit them, and that’s what we’ve been
working on all week.”
Derby have
turned on the style in recent weeks, winning six of their eight-game unbeaten
run, after an initial sluggish start under Clement.
And
Redfearn hopes his implementation of a new style will have similar results.
“They
have found a way,” he said. “They started off where it wasn’t how they wanted
it to be, but Paul was strong and stuck by his beliefs.
“He
recruited well and they have added to what he has got there. They have found a
bit of consistency, found a bit of form and starting getting results.
“It’s
exactly the same sort of stuff I have been saying about putting these things in
place.”
