Inside Futbol
·28 April 2025
Derby County Warned Of Twists And Turns By Former Rams Star

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·28 April 2025
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Former Derby County star Shaun Barker has issued a warning to the Rams stars that there will be several twists and turns that they will have to be wary of on the final day of the season when they take on Stoke City.
On Saturday, Derby came out victorious over relegation rivals Hull City to get themselves one point clear of the relegation zone ahead of their final game of the season against Stoke City on Saturday.
Their fixture at the weekend is a crucial one, as their Championship status will be at stake and a win could guarantee them another year in the second division in the English football pyramid.
Derby will face their direct relegation rivals, Stoke City, who are two points clear of the relegation zone, at Pride Park and Mark Robins’ side will be desperate to get a result out of the game against John Eustace’s men.
Ex-Rams star Barker praised Derby for coming up with the right set-up and attitude to secure back-to-back wins, which they fully deserved and pointed out that due to their recent results, Eustace’s men have their own future in their hands going into the final game of the season.
However, he warned the Derby players that they should be wary of twists and turns that the final day of the season will bring and urged them to show the professionalism and performance they have displayed in recent weeks on Saturday to secure their survival.
“When you need to win games, it doesn’t matter where you are; you have just got to get the right team, the right set-up, the right attitude and the right behaviour from the players and they certainly have done that in the last couple of games and they deserve the last two victories they have picked up”, Barker said on Rams TV (9:00).
“What it does is it takes us to the final game of the season against a Stoke side at Pride Park and it is in our hands.
“They mentioned that they are not going to take their foot off the gas; they are not celebrating anything; it is still a long way to go.
“I know it is only a game, but we are seeing the twists and turns that have happened today [Saturday].
“How did we feel probably just before the game with Luton winning the game? How are Preston going to feel now when probably a week ago they believed they were out of it?
“There are so many twists and turns that will happen on that final day.
“It is up to us to put in a performance and show that professionalism we have had over the last few weeks.”
Derby have not lost a competitive game at Pride Park against Stoke City since 2012 and they will want to keep that record intact in front of their home crowd on Saturday.
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