Cambridge United boss Garry Monk has issued his verdict on Derby County ahead of this weekend’s showdown.
Derby County have never been closer to clinching promotion back to the Championship. The Rams are three points clear of third place Bolton Wanderers, requiring just four points from their final two games to seal the deal.
Despite Bolton boss Ian Evatt setting his mind on the play-offs, Paul Warne isn’t buying into that mentality as there is still plenty of work to be done.
Cambridge United, managed by former Swansea and Birmingham City boss Garry Monk, still require one more win to retain their League One status.
It means that, while Derby are the superior side on paper, The U’s need a positive result just as much as Warne’s men, which points towards a fascinating battle at the Cledara Abbey Stadium.
Garry Monk explains why he fears Derby County
An exciting match is expected on Saturday afternoon as Monk promotes his side to play out from the back while Derby are at their best on the counterattack.
Monk knows that Cambridge will need to produce their A game, and some, to overcome the challenge of Derby who boast the third-best away record in the division behind only Portsmouth and Barnsley.
The Rams are also extremely consistent against teams from 10th in the league downwards, winning nine of their 14 matches and keeping an impressive nine clean sheets.
Surprisingly, the former Swansea defender hasn’t pinpointed those statistics as reasons to fear the visitors, instead looking at the quality they can field on the pitch.
Monk believes his side will have to go above and beyond to achieve a result tomorrow afternoon.
Speaking to the Cambridge official YouTube channel, he said: “They are one of the highest quality squads in the league and they are where they are for a reason.
“I think so, really strong, physically strong, energetic and they’ve got some quality, a lot of individual quality so we’re going to have to go above and beyond what we’ve produced already in the good games we’ve done.
“We’re probably going to have to go above that to get the result we want.”
Derby County’s individual quality will make the difference
Warne has set his side up in a 3-5-2 system in the last two matches, prevailing with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leyton Orient last weekend.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and James Collins played next to each other up top while Liam Thompson was given license to float in behind.
In a game of this magnitude, the Derby boss will call on his quality operators to make the difference.
On their day, Mendez-Laing and Collins can blow away any team in the division having scored 27 goals between them in all competitions.
The Rams have also scored the second most goals on their travels (36) in League One, so it is no wonder Monk is fearful of the visitors’ quality.
Let’s hope they can deliver tomorrow afternoon and ensure Derby step one foot into the Championship.
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