As Derby County enter the final nine games of the Sky Bet Championship season, Gary Rowett believes that the “exciting” nature of the scenario is a demonstration of the improvement made over the past year.
The Rams are 10 points better off than at the same stage of last season and this time around, they are firmly in with a shout of finishing in the top-six.
Rowett wants his side to relish the challenge of maintaining their league position, starting with the Friday night clash against Sunderland at Pride Park Stadium.
He told RamsTV: “It is exciting and we have to grasp that and we have to seize what is a fantastic opportunity.
“I think it is really exciting. Last season when we came in with nine games to go, we were realistically a long way behind, and now we’re firmly in the mix.
“We know the circumstances around the fact that we were second, but we have to accept the moment and that we have everything to fight for.
“If you said after the Bristol City game [in September] that with nine games left we would be in fifth with a fantastic chance of extending our season by three games, we would have said that it was fairly successful.”
Derby faced the Black Cats on the opening day of the season at the Stadium of Light, when Bradley Johnson’s opener was cancelled out by a Lewis Grabban penalty.
Simon Grayson was in charge on that night but Sunderland are now led by Chris Coleman, and the former Wales boss will need to close a five-point gap in the coming weeks to pull his side out of the relegation zone.
Despite the contrasting fortunes since the first game, the last thing Rowett wants is for complacency to creep in.
He said: “It does seem like a long time ago. Up at Sunderland, it was probably the worst time to play them, but we had opportunities to win the game.
“Whilst you look at the league table and you’re aware of their form and standing, you can’t overly focus on that.
“Villa recently lost to two teams that you would have expected them to beat, so you can’t take anything for granted in the Championship.”
Ahead of another big game, Rowett is looking forward to a vibrant atmosphere as Derby return to action after 19 days without a fixture.
He added: “We are looking forward to the game, and we’re asking everybody to stand up and be counted, whether that’s the fans or the players.
“We have to go out there and make it happen and fight for what we want to achieve, and that is our focus.
“Under the lights at Pride Park, it’s a fantastic game to be a part of.”
