Rams face testing time - Clough
Derby County manager Nigel Clough admits the next two weeks could shape the Rams' season.
Derby take on Manchester United in their away leg of the Carling Cup semi-final next Tuesday and face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup three days later.
Clough told Radio Derby: "We've got five games in 14 days and it could be argued that those games will go a long way to defining our season.
"They are two big cup games and three more important league matches."
The Rams also face QPR, Birmingham and Coventry in the league this month.
Clough, who replaced manager Paul Jewell a week ago, has said he will get to work on trimming the squad at Pride Park.
"There are too many players and we need to get some out playing football somewhere, so it'll ease the burden all round.
"You can only play 11 on a Saturday and when you've got mid-to-late thirties, there's 20-odd unhappy players," he said.
Clough not downhearted by defeat
Derby County manager Nigel Clough has said he is not downhearted after the Rams' 1-0 defeat at Birmingham which has left them in the relegation zone.
Former Rams midfielder Lee Carsley's second-half header saw Derby go third from bottom in the Championship.
Clough told Radio Derby: "It was a very good performance in everything but the result to come to third in the league and play in the manner we did.
"We'd rather play like that every week because if we do we'll be OK."
Clough said: "If we had come here and struggled there would have been more reason to be downhearted about it but that wasn't the case.
"There's progress and improvement but they've got to start turning that into results."
Derby, who face Coventry on Saturday, are one point off safety.
Fear factor has gone, says Teale
Derby County winger Gary Teale believes new manager Nigel Clough's ability to take the fear factor out of playing is behind their recent resurgence.
Teale was on target in the 3-0 away win over Plymouth on Saturday - the Rams' third consecutive victory.
He told Radio Derby: "The manager wants us to play football, to get the ball down and express ourselves in the final third.
"If we express ourselves and lose the ball then he's not on our case."
Teale added: "It's our reaction to try to get the ball back that he's more interested in."
The Scotland international spent time on loan with Argyle last season and was also loaned out to Barnsley at the beginning of this term.
But he has been a vital member of Clough's revitalised Rams.
Teale set up two goals in the thrilling FA Cup fourth round win over fierce rivals Nottingham Forest.
And as well as grabbing the first goal at Home Park on Saturday, he also made a goal for Rob Hulse in the impressive win.
"The second goal settled us down then we got a third and we could've got a lot more but we were just happy to sit in a wee bit," said Teale.
But despite their recent upturn in fortunes, the 30-year-said conceded it is vital that the Rams take nothing for granted.
"We are where we are in the league because we haven't been playing well so we need to get as far up the league as possible," said Teale.
"We need to come to places like Plymouth and pick up as many wins as possible."
And Teale says there is no danger of the Rams losing sight of league matters going into Sunday's FA Cup fifth round tie against Premier League pacesetters Manchester United.
"The league's the bread and butter," he added. "But these are the games you play football for.
"You want to play against these teams, to test yourself. We have nothing to fear and we are obviously playing with a bit of confidence.
"We are expecting to win. If you go into the game not expecting to win you're on a hiding to nothing from the off."
Eustace joins Derby in loan deal
Derby County have signed John Eustace on loan from Championship rivals Watford until the end of the season.
The 29-year-old midfielder goes straight into the Rams' injury-hit squad for Tuesday's league match against Southampton at St Mary's.
"John was pretty close to the top of our list and we've liked the look of him the past couple of seasons," Rams boss Nigel Clough told Radio Derby.
Derby have severe injury problems which have decimated their midfield.
Paul Green and Miles Addison have both been ruled out for the season and Stephen Pearson is also sidelined.
Steve Davies missed the win over Bristol City in which Mile Sterjovski played as an emergency central midfielder alongside Robbie Savage.
Clough added: "He can help us in that department. He played a lot for Watford at the start of the season but has struggled to get into the team recently.
"Once he plays a game or two he'll be up to speed, especially with the adrenalin of first-team football."
Savage's fresh Toshack criticism
Robbie Savage has claimed national team boss John Toshack prematurely ended his Wales career because of Savage's character and not his football ability.
The midfielder was the first senior player to retire under Toshack before several other high-profile retirements.
Savage quit after a public bust-up with Toshack, who has never responded to criticism from the player.
"It wasn't a football reason, I was too big a character and personality and could influence people," said Savage.
Savage was one of the star players during the Mark Hughes regime when Wales almost reached the 2004 European Championship finals before a two-legged play-off defeat to Russia.
Wales have been in transition since Toshack replaced Hughes as manager in November 2004 and a host of experienced players such as Gary Speed, Mark Delaney, John Hartson, Andy Melville, Mark Pembridge and Giggs called time on Wales.
But Savage quit his country after Toshack told him he was not in a Wales squad despite playing for top Premier League side Blackburn Rovers.
Toshack was a staunch critic of Savage before he took over Wales and when Hughes announced he was leaving as Wales boss to become Blackburn Rovers manager, outspoken Savage said he wanted a management team of Gary Speed and Brian Flynn to succeed Hughes.
Giggs and Wigan Athletic midfielder Jason Koumas, like Savage, are both still playing for their respective clubs in the Premier League after retiring for Wales duty.
And Savage told BBC Two Wales' Friday night show Sport Wales: "The only game I was involved in, I was a senior member of the squad and people that were put up for the Press are people who won't say anything - but that's the way it is.
"When Premier League players are in the Wales squad, they're the ones that the press want to speak to and no disrespect to players in the lower leagues, they don't want to speak to them.
"You had no voice as a senior player and, I suppose, I'm better off out of there.
"But I will always be bitter as, for me, it wasn't a football decision. It was because I am such a huge character.
"When he took over, John told me it was a clean slate for me and he picked me in his first squad - but I was injured and never picked again.
"He must have disliked what I said in the press when I wanted Gary Speed and Brian Flynn to get the job.
"I was good enough to play for Wales.
"And it's okay saying I threw my toys out of the pram but irrespective of whether I retired or not he was wasn't going to play me as I wasn't his type.
"It kills me that I've got only 39 Wales caps when I've played more than 350 Premier League games when there's people who haven't played 20 Premier League games who have got 50 caps.
"It makes me laugh as when you see players in my position like Carl Fletcher and Carl Robinson go on to win almost 50 caps, it breaks your heart.
"They pass the ball but at Derby I have the highest pass success rate. So at 34, sitting in front of the back four, passing the ball around and using my experience to help the kids is an ideal role for me. It would have been perfect.
"And I have played and worked well under managers such as Dario Gradi, Martin O'Neill, Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Peter Taylor and Nigel Clough and they don't make bad decisions that often."
The former Real Madrid manager has always insisted it was purely Savage's decision to quit the national squad.
In a rare response from Toshack two years ago, he recommended that Savage, who was part of a Wales team that went 10 competitive games without winning, should be "sitting in a corner with my mouth shut".
But Savage has chosen to reopen old wounds on the day the Wales manager announces his final World Cup qualifying squad for their double-header with Finland and Liechtenstein later this month.
Wales have a potential midfield crisis as Jack Collison (calf), Simon Davies (foot) and Brian Stock (ankle) are out while Koumas, Robinson and Fletcher have all recently retired.
But the Derby County midfielder insists: "John won't pick me now but if he did, I wouldn't go back."
Savage played in Wales' last win over a major nation when Hughes' team beat Italy 2-1 on a memorable night at the Millennium Stadium in October 2002.
Since then Wales have lost a host of experienced internationals. Young talent such as Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Ledley, Wayne Hennessey and David Edwards have been fast-tracked the senior team.
"It's amazing how Welsh football has changed as people seem happy to lose but not by much," said Savage.
"John has signed a new two-year contract but where are we? As the young kids would have come through anyway.
"But John is the man to take Wales forward."
He concluded: "I had a great Wales career as I played in one the best Wales teams ever as we filled The Millennium Stadium regularly and got so close to qualifying - it was a great time."
Clough annoyed with Rams
Nigel Clough lamented Derby's naivety after they conceded a 90th-minute equaliser to draw 1-1 at Portsmouth in the Championship.
Steve Davies' first-half volley looked like being enough to secure the Rams only their second win in 12 games before David Nugent netted a late leveller.
Clough said: "Naivety has kicked in so many times this season. The players we have are very inexperienced and don't seem to be learning as quickly as we would like them to.
"It should have been all three points on a number of occasions this season. But we make inadequate decisions in the last five minutes of games.
"I think we've conceded more goals between 80 and 90 minutes than any other team in the league.
"The goals were two great finishes. But the ball shouldn't have been anywhere near our box in the 90th minute."
On goalscorer Davies, he added: "Steve has been out a long time. That was his first start, and he's going to play a part in the next 17 games.
"Unfortunately, he'll just be getting to full fitness as we're finishing and going into the summer.
"He didn't finish the game and he has played 19 full league games in his career. You can see how far he has had to come back from. He has not played regularly at all in the last five years.
"He has an awful long way to go and it will be next season, if he stays injury free, before he gets to full fitness."
Portsmouth manager Steve Cotterill continues to be restricted by the financial problems at the club and admits it is hard to play the way he wants to play.
Cotterill said: "We do need to be stronger here (at Fratton Park). It's very difficult. We were at home and potentially we wanted to start at 4-4-2.
"We wanted to do that but we are a player missing. If we had still had Utaka (who was the latest player exit when he joined Montpellier earlier in the week), we would have gone 4-4-2 from the kick-off. But we need someone to balance off that left-hand side for us. It has been a headache."
Portsmouth started with a on-loan back line and Cotterill added: "When I went into the stand, someone said 'you need to get a back four, Steve.' Well that's great, but it would probably cost us about £3million if we wanted to get some good ones.
"Does anybody not think I want that? You give me the money and I'll spend it - 100%. But I'm working with what I have, and quite often we've had four loan players at the back. How ideal is that?"
Asked why he watched the second half from the stands, he commented further: "I had words with the fourth official at half time and the referee said to me 'I think it would be a good idea Steve that you don't get in any more trouble and you stay up in the stand in the second half'.
"He was right. So I didn't get in any trouble; I didn't get sent off. He just said it would be a wise decision for me not to get involved in anything.
"I suppose I have to thank him for that really because he was right. I might have got in some trouble."
