You don’t need The Athletic to tell you that Derby County have struggled in most areas this season. That much is obvious by their 21st position in the Championship table.
However, one department they have flourished in is against the bigger teams in the division. To manager Wayne Rooney, there is nothing special about how Derby play against the teams sitting in the top six. But, once again, they rose to the challenge in a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at Pride Park.
“No, I don’t think so,” Rooney said when asked if more expansive teams suit Derby’s game. “You look at the Sheffield Wednesday game, we should have been 3-0 up at half time. Games like tonight get highlighted more of course. I think it just shows the quality we’ve got.”
Perhaps that may be the case. But there is a positive byproduct of going up against teams who like to play expansive football. Derby have taken 11 points from a possible 15 from…
