Andy Mangan looks ahead to Bristol Rovers’ League One match at Pride Park this weekend, where they will face the “monster” Derby County.
Rovers are only four points behind Saturday’s opponent, who is three places above Mangan’s side in seventh.
“Every team obviously poses different threats, but Derby County are an enormous club,” Mangan told the BBC.
“They are a monster in the league, the stadium is fantastic, they’ve got a fantastic team to choose from, they’ve got a manager and a coaching staff there who are experienced in getting promoted, but with that comes a little bit of pressure as well,” he said.
The last time the two sides met in the East Midlands, the Rams won 4-2, with David McGoldrick scoring a hat-trick. Mangan will be eager to make amends this weekend, as his team has gone undefeated in their last six matches across all competitions.
“We’re obviously in really good form at the moment, they’ve had a couple of indifferent results but that doesn’t make us prepare for them any less,” the interim manager said.
“We are prepared for the best Derby County who are a fantastic side, so for me it’s exciting.”
The 37-year-old believes that if his team is to pick up any points on the road, the travelling faithful must play a significant role.
“I think the fans should be delighted; I’m sure they’ll come out in force, as they did at Reading and Carlisle.”
“Once we beat one of those league monsters, I believe this group will take off, and I believe we’re only getting started around the corner from a result like that,” said Mangan. Both County and The Gad will see this weekend as a must win in their respective hunts for promotion into England second-tier, a division the Ram’s supporters know extremely well.
“We’re obviously fighting for the same thing, I believe they’re fighting for play-offs.
“They’ve come into the season with ambitions to get automatic promotion, as Derby County the size of the club and the experience of some of the players that they’ve got.”
With numerous key players returning to the first-team after injury layoffs, Mangan faces a difficult task in terms of team selection ahead of the weekend.
“Saturday will be an incredible test for us, and we’re all very excited about it.”
“We’re very confident, we’ve got a fantastic squad, we have got lads coming back now fit, it’s difficult to pick the squad let alone picking the staring XI, so it is an exciting time for the club.”
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