CULLEN DISCUSSES DRAW AT DERBY COUNTY

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Midfielder talks point on the road

2025-04-08T22:08:38.168Z

CULLEN DISCUSSES DRAW AT DERBY COUNTY

Midfielder talks point on the road

2025-04-08T22:08:38.168Z

Midfielder talks point on the road

Josh Cullen said the Clarets need to 'take the point and move on to Friday' following Tuesday night's goalless encounter at Pride Park.

Reflecting on a stubborn Rams side that made it a tricky evening for the high-flying visitors, Cullen said he felt the team's 'quality on the ball wasn't that high enough tempo' to break them down and come away with all three points.

“Initially probably a little bit disappointed. We want to go and win every game, and we probably fell a little bit short tonight, just in terms of what we created and our general quality on the ball probably wasn't that high enough tempo to break down a stubborn Derby side.

“However, it's a team that I think their place in the table is probably not fair, they’ve been on a good run of form recently against some good teams. And since the new manager has come in, they've posed a tough test for everyone.

“We've got a point on the road and now we move on to Friday.”

Derby County had won four of their previous five games and fighting at the bottom of the table did Cullen feel they were always going to pose a tough challenge, especially at this stage of the season?

“That’s exactly it, a lot of teams have got something to play for in this league, we know the nature of the Championship. There will be a lot of teams that are fighting to stay in the league, teams that are fighting to get in the play-offs, and obviously us fighting to get in those top two positions.

“So, everyone's got something to play for. Everyone's fighting for their lives and their run of form recently we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game coming here tonight. We knew it was going to be a physical game, a lot of hard work, a lot of defending to do, which I thought the boys did really well. It was probably just a little bit of our, like I said, the tempo and the ball. We weren’t able to sort of create that as we have recently tonight. And that was probably ultimately why we haven't got the three points. But we move on to Friday night.”

CULLEN DISCUSSES DRAW AT DERBY COUNTY - Image 1

The draw makes it 28 unbeaten for Scott Parker's men, however Cullen believes it's important to just focus on the next game rather than stats.

“As players we haven't mentioned the run we've been on or the stats or anything like that because we always know that the next game is coming quickly, and we have to focus. If we're not focused and we're not switched on, then that record will be over. So, all we do as a team is focus on the next game, pride ourselves on trying to put in the best performance that we can and that'll be no different Friday night, quick turnaround. We rest up and go again.”

There was a strong travelling contingent at Pride Park on the evening, just how important is the fans support going to be to the squad with five games to go?

“Yes, we’re going to need them behind us, like they’ve been all season, they've been absolutely fantastic for us. That backing, we really feel it as players, and we thank them for their efforts travelling. We know that it's hard for people to follow a team and the cost it has on them and the money they have to spend to do it. That never goes unnoticed.

“We appreciate the support and I'm sure that they won't let us down on Friday night and they'll be there, and Turf Moor will be rocking again. Hopefully, we can end the week with getting three points.”

Finally, with the Canaries next up, Cullen's aware the team will face a different challenge on Friday night on home turf.

“It’ll be a different threat, different opposition to what we faced tonight. They were very direct tonight; Norwich will probably pose us a different threat in their style of play. We'll have to get back to the training ground, analyse them, set up our game plan and be ready to go. But look, we know if as a team we're on it, then we're a very tough team to play against. So that'll be our focus, making sure we rest up, recover, get the game plan right and we're at the top of our game on Friday night.”