It has been a tricky season for Derby and Nigel Clough who find themselves in the lower reaches of the Championship.
A welcome victory at Peterborough last week lifted some of the pressure at Pride Park but it looks as though survival is the aim of the game once more for the Rams.
However, they have a juicy FA Cup tie against Doncaster to look forward to this weekend where they will be gunning for revenge after their recent Championship defeat against the same opposition at Pride Park.
Injuries haven’t helped Derby’s cause this season but Clough hopes he has found a winning formula in defence with Shaun Barker and Jake Buxton after their clean sheet at London Road last week.
Q: Were you pleased with the central defensive pairing of Shaun Barker and Jake Buxton last weekend?
A: It would be nice to keep a partnership together at the back and at the moment it is Shaun Barker and Jake Buxton. They will be the partnership until something happens. Even in the last two games you could see his (Barker’s) importance to the team.
He can come and head the ball, which he did magnificently in the first 15 minutes at Peterborough. When you talk about setting the tone, he does that. So yes, we want him fit but we just have to be careful with him.
Q: What is the latest with your injury list?
A: Miles (Addison) has another problem with his foot, albeit a different area of his foot. I don't think we can put a timescale on it until the injury settles down. It could be a week, it could be four weeks.
Q: You have added Russell Anderson as short-term cover - what is the situation with him?
A: We would like to see Russell Anderson in a couple of competitive games. He has shown enough in training and even when he came on against Peterborough at the weekend. He is probably just what we need – good experienced cover. He can play full back as well."
Q: What is the latest on your three loanees - DJ Campbell, Nicky Hunt and Lee Johnson, who are due to return to their parent clubs at the end of the month?
A: I think we would like to keep the three loans we have got until the end of the season so we will be talking to their clubs to see what we can do. On top of that, we would like to add two or three fresh loans to what we have. We are trying to bring players in and we have irons in the fire.
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