'Absolutely key' - Derby County insight ahead of Chesterfield pre-season friendly

The League One Rams visit the SMH Group Stadium on Wednesday night (7pm).

We spoke to Owen Bradley, of the Derby County media team, to get the lowdown...

How have Derby got on in pre-season so far?

Not that I would ever read too much in to results, but it’s been a solid enough start. A 2-0 win at Matlock Town, followed by a 1-1 draw with Salford City in Spain at the weekend. The context of course is that both fixtures came at the end of a very hard week of training. From what I’ve heard, the camp in Spain was gruelling. But that is how Paul Warne likes his teams to be – fitter than the competition! They are also integrating a decent number of new faces and a new formation, so it’s fair to say it’s a bit of a work in progress.

What transfer business have they done?

It was always going to be a busy summer, and so it’s proved. David McGoldrick was the major departure – last season’s top-scorer chose to follow his heart and go home to Notts County – but club captain Curtis Davies was released too, and academy graduate Jason Knight was sold to Bristol City last week. There have been seven first-team signings so far. It’s tricky to pick the headline arrival, though it could be former Luton Town captain Sonny Bradley, or any of the three wing-backs (Callum Elder, Kane Wilson, Joe Ward) given that that is such a key position for Warne. I don’t think they will be the last of the new faces either.

What type of line-up do you think they will pick for Wednesday night?

I imagine it will be a similar team to the one that faced Salford at the weekend. There are a few knocks and niggles – though nothing serious – that are limiting the side Warne can put out. Joe Wildsmith & Josh Vickers will split the minutes in goal, we’ll see a back-three with Bradley probably at the heart of it. Expect a couple of younger players to be involved again too. Max Bardell looked the part as a right wing-back on Saturday, Jake Rooney looks mature beyond his years, Darren Robinson could have a break-through year in midfield.

What formation do Derby tend to play and how would you describe their style?

I have mentioned wing-backs a couple of times already. They will be absolutely key to how Paul Warne wants to play this season. He dabbled with it last season a few times but Derby never really had the personnel. Now they do, or at least will once everyone is fit. Warne-ball is an all-action style. He doesn’t believe in keeping the ball just for the sake of it. He wants his players to be positive, to get the ball forward and get it in the box. That doesn’t mean long-ball, but Derby won’t be afraid to mix it up either.

What are the expectations for Derby this season?

In a word? Promotion. Given the teams that went up last season, I think Derby fans would argue they are now the biggest club in the division. And after the first summer of calm in what feels like an eternity, there is a very different feel around the club. There’s no arrogance here though – Warne, his staff and the players know they will have to earn any success they have, and the head coach won’t let anyone forget that. But there is a belief that with the quality, the work ethic and the personalities now here, Derby should be in the mix come the end of the campaign.