Derby County manager Phillip Cocu has challenged his side to be more ruthless in front of goal as he takes his side to Brentford on Saturday looking to end their opening sequence of fixtures before the international break with a win.
Cocu’s side have only tasted defeat once in the league this season and have taken six points from their opening five games of the Sky Bet Championship campaign, recording a single victory and three draws.
The Rams head to Griffin Park this weekend eyeing all three points which will take them into the international break with nine points which will give the team a lot of confidence going into the second sequence of games next month.
Summing up the season so far, Cocu told RamsTV: “There have been a few ups and downs in the team. We need to be more consistent and effective in front of goal.
“We work on it as a team everyday, with the offensive players, midfield players, full backs and together with the strikers to get the crosses right and the movements right. We could have done better.
“We have tried to play and the team has showed they really try to play like we want and we’ve shown some great skills in the goals that we have scored, but you cannot be satisfied at this moment.
“We have six points out of five games so that’s the reality and we have to improve in the next couple of games. After the break is like a new start.
“We work from international break to international break and we have to do better than the start.”
Saturday’s opponents Brentford have picked up four points from their five games, but are yet to win in front of their own supporters.
However, Cocu knows the trip to Griffin Park will be tough but is eyeing nothing less than a victory.
“We have to focus on the Brentford game because it’s really important game for us,” he said. “It’s the last game to get a good result before the international break comes up.
“That’s what we will go for in this game, to go and get an away win like we did against Huddersfield on the opening day.
“They haven’t had a good start but they have a good team. They have a lot of possession, combine very well in their 3-4-3 system so we cannot go there and think it will be an easy way to get three points.
“If we do well like we did against West Bromwich Albion in the home game last weekend then of course it is possible to get a win.”
