Rams must believe wins are around the corner
MARTYN Waghorn says belief that wins will come is vital as Derby County look to improve on a slow start to the season.
The Rams have won only one of their eight League matches and have collected five points from 24.
This weekend they face an away test against Bournemouth, who sit second in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League last season.
“We know in this league nobody is going to just give us three points,” said Waghorn.
“In the grand scheme of things, you look back at an away game at Forest and a home fixture against Cardiff and think, against two big teams, you can be happy with a point in each game.
“Where we are and where we want to be, we know that ultimately we have potentially dropped four points from the way that we have played.
“For us, it is now about seeing out games and having that belief in ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, we do know we need to score more goals too.
“If we had scored a second or a third then we would have killed the game (against Cardiff on Wednesday) and got the three points.
“The recent draws have been a start. We know we have to improve and what we have got to improve on and we have to build on that going forward because the fixtures keep on coming.”
Looking to Bournemouth, Waghorn added: “We know it is going to be a difficult game. If we can put some real pressure on them, then no team is unbeatable. We have got to believe in ourselves and believe in what we are trying to do and take the game to them.”
Waghorn opened his scoring account for the season with stunning free kicks in the Rams’ last two games, against Forest at the City Ground and Cardiff City at Pride Park.
And practice – as well as stiff competition from Wayne Rooney and Tom Lawrence – appears to be the secret behind Waghorn’s accuracy and success.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a free kick expert but it was nice to score another on Wednesday,” said Waghorn.
“Both free kicks have been in good
areas for myself and it has been a huge thing lately between me, Loz (Tom Lawrence) and Wayne (Rooney).
“There is just a bit of competition and we do a lot of work on set plays. We know it is a big part of the game and a real opportunity.
“Thankfully for myself, I’ve got two in two. Practice has paid off at the minute and I am taking the rewards for it, which is nice.”
Rooney scored direct from a free kick in Derby’s only League win this season, the 1-0 victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road.