A Derby County ace has admitted he’ll be having ‘sleepless nights’ ahead of the clash against Carlisle United this weekend.
Paul Warne‘s side are on the verge of securing promotion to the Championship after winning a close-fought game away at Cambridge United.
Three points for The Rams moved them on to 89 points, now only needing a draw on Saturday to mathematically seal a top-two finish.
After a two-season absence from the second tier, Derby will be desperate to get the job done against a side who sit at the foot of the table already relegated.
One player can’t wait for the final-day clash at Pride Park.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing can’t wait for Saturday
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has enjoyed a ‘brilliant’ season for the East Midlanders, netting nine times whilst laying on a whopping 16 assists – which is the most in League One.
The 32-year-old, speaking to BBC Radio Derby, is relishing Saturday’s clash against Carlisle United in what is expected to be a party atmosphere.
“It’s exciting,” Mendez-Laing said.
“There will be sleepless nights thinking about the next game – we can’t wait. We are confident, we know what we’ve got in there (the changing room) and what better place to do it than Pride Park?”
Asked about Derby’s record-breaking 13th away win of the season at Cambridge, the former Cardiff City forward said: “It’s always nice to be remembered for these kind of things, but we need to get the end goal of automatic promotion.
“To be part of something that could be very special moving forward will be a great honour.”
Derby recognise the job isn’t done yet
Mendez-Laing and everyone at the club seem to be remaining level-headed despite their strong position in the automatic race.
It would take a defeat against rock-bottom Carlisle and a convincing Bolton Wanderers win away at fourth-placed Peterborough United to drop out of the top two on the final day.
Though, stranger things have happened and Derby need to be laser-focused to avoid any late drama in the automatic promotion race.
Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson has admitted he’ll be fielding a weakened side against Bolton, so they can’t afford to rely on Posh to get them over the line.
A telling week awaits The Rams.
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