Shaun Barker has issued a ‘strange’ warning to his former club Derby County ahead of their season-defining clash against Carlisle United.
Derby County are on the verge of clinching promotion back to the Championship. Just a point against relegated Carlisle, regardless of what happens in the other games, will see The Rams secure a top-two spot.
Although it seems a formality that Derby secure their return to the second tier, with Opta giving Bolton Wanderers a 0.8% chance of sneaking into the second position, nerves will still engulf Pride Park on Saturday.
Supporters have endured many years of hurt in the past, particularly in the Mel Morris era, as Derby finished in the Championship’s top 10 in eight consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2020.
In four of those campaigns, The Rams finished in the play-offs but failed to get over the line and reach the Premier League.
The one that hurt the most was the 2019 play-off final against Aston Villa, as Derby were defeated 2-1 and then financial woes unravelled before their eyes.
Shaun Barker issues warning to Derby County ahead of Carlisle clash
Former Derby County defender Shaun Barker has issued a warning to Derby ahead of their clash against Carlisle.
A boyhood supporter of the club, Barker played over 100 times for The Rams between 2009 and 2012, with the ex-defender well-placed to comment on their current position in the table.
The 41-year-old believes stranger things have happened in football and has insisted that Warne’s men will need to make sure that they beat an already-relegated Carlisle United to write their name into the history books.
“We have seen some strange things in football, we have seen bigger turns and bigger twists than this,” Barker said on RamsTV.
“He knows how close they are, he knows what has gone into this season – both staff, players, staff behind the scenes and obviously fans and everyone associated with the football club.
“So much has gone to getting into this position and not only this season as well, it is the previous seasons that have built to this.
“Now we have got one final game against the team that is at the bottom of the league, they are already relegated, it is in our hands and it is still up to us.”
Derby County mustn’t play the occasion
Derby are on the verge of achieving something special and for many, this will be their first-ever shot at promotion and it’s hard to not look at the prize available.
As for the more experienced professionals such as Conor Hourihane and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, they have experienced promotion previously with Aston Villa and Cardiff City respectively.
They know what it takes to manage this situation, with Hourihane already revealing that his teammates have felt an extra calmness in recent weeks.
Such calmness has been reflected in their displays on the pitch as Derby secured wins and clean sheets against Leyton Orient and Cambridge United following their goalless draw against Wycombe.
If Warne’s squad can carry a similar calmness into this contest, perhaps helped by their more experienced teammates, Derby will be celebrating promotion back to the Championship against Carlisle.
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