Wayne Rooney delivers defiant Derby County message ahead of Luton Town test

Derby County boss Wayne Rooney insists that he still has belief that his team can survive in the Championship this season.

Even though the Rams have been hit with a 21-point deduction during the campaign, they have performed superbly well to even have a chance of staying up.

However, a tough midweek has seen Derby lose significant ground, and they head into tomorrow’s game against Luton Town sitting eight points behind Reading who have won successive games.

Despite that, Rooney told the club’s media that he still has faith in his players as they look to achieve the improbable.

“I encourage the players to take risks, especially in the opposing half. If you’re brave, you’re more likely to create scoring opportunities. Our next five games are challenging and we need to pick up more points on the road. I still believe we can pull it off.”

It promises to be a tough game against the Hatters, who are performing very well themselves as they look to push into the top six.

The verdict

This is the right message from Rooney as he needs the team to believe that they can pick up results and they’ve shown in the past that they have nothing to fear in this league.

The midweek results went against Derby, so it’s about bouncing back and trying to close the gap on Reading, which would put more pressure on them.

So, it will be interesting to see if they can get the points in what is a very tough fixture at Kenilworth Road.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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