Derby County captain Lewis Travis has set his sights on qualifying for the play-offs this season, saying 'I don't see why we can't.' The Rams will play their first match of the new season on Saturday against Charlton Athletic, with Travis optimistic about the nine months ahead.
What happened?
Derby County captain Lewis Travis makes it clear that the target this season is to qualify for the play-offs as he prepares for the Championship kick-off. The build-up might have been overshadowed by the collapse of a takeover move from Turki Alalshikh, and John Eustace has only been able to spend a transfer fee on one new signing so far: Bobby Clark, who was on loan at Pride Park last season.
Why it matters for Derby County
Travis looks around the changing room at players who helped secure eighth last time around and he is optimistic about the nine months ahead. 'It's a really good group, a core group of players that did really well last season,' he said. 'We are all hungry and want to get in that play-offs and I don't see why we can't do it this season.'
What comes next?
Derby must shake off a 2-1 home defeat to Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup first round last weekend, when they were 2-0 down by the 23rd minute. Travis said in an interview for the club website: 'Listen, we were ok in spells - but we can't start a game like that. Everyone knows that. It's down to the real stuff, there's no making excuses for ourselves now. Every game matters now from now until the end of the season.'
League standing (final 2025 table -- new season not yet under way): 8th in Championship, 69 pts, 20W-9D-17L from 46 games, recent form LWLWL.
The midfielder is refreshed as he heads into his first full season as a Ram, having joined late in August last year. He said: 'It was a really nice summer. I had a honeymoon and a few other holidays and I came into the academy to work and sort out a little few niggles. It's been good. I think football is always in the back of your mind especially coming off the back of not a great season. You want to fix things and get back in playing games straight away. It was a good time to switch off a little bit and get myself ready. I think you want to get off to a good start. All the boys are raring and ready to go."
Goals this season: 67 scored, 59 conceded (+8 goal difference).
The title race is 26 points behind leaders Coventry, and Derby must shake off a 2-1 home defeat to Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup first round last weekend, when they were 2-0 down by the 23rd minute. Travis said in an interview for the club website: 'Listen, we were ok in spells - but we can't start a game like that. Everyone knows that. It's down to the real stuff, there's no making excuses for ourselves now. Every game matters now from now until the end of the season.'
What's next for Derby County?
Derby will play their first of 46 matches on Saturday (3pm) when they head to Charlton Athletic, knowing that if they match last term's finish they will now be part of an expanded shoot-out for promotion next May. The build-up might have been overshadowed by the collapse of a takeover move from Turki Alalshikh, and John Eustace has only been able to spend a transfer fee on one new signing so far: Bobby Clark, who was on loan at Pride Park last season. Sammie Szmodics has arrived back on loan while Charlie Taylor and Filip Bilbija have joined as free agents.
