3 reasons why Derby County can end their hoodoo at Molineux

Every team has that ground where they travel to that just no matter how hard they try season after season, they fail to win at.

Molineux is one such stadium that Derby County not only can’t seem to buy a win at, but also play so badly on a regular basis.

The Rams travel to Molineux, the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, this Saturday for another Sky Sports televised Championship game in the hope of ending what is a bit of a hoodoo at the ground that has only seen Derby beat the hosts on their own turf twice in the last 26 years.

In fact, you have to go back to 2006 for the Rams’ last victory there during the promotion season under Billy Davies, and 1994 before that.

Here are Shoot!‘s John Hicken’s three reasons why it’s time Derby bring that bad run to an end this weekend…

The Rams are on the up

A bit of an obvious one this. As every Rams fan knows, this season has not been a barrel of laughs by any stretch of the imagination – but the green shoots of recovery are beginning to show.

They are still not firing on all cylinders like we know this team can perform, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction, as illustrated in the two-nil win against a very good Sheffield Wednesday team last weekend.

Steve McClaren has another full week to work with the players to hopefully get that quick passing game back, and everyone is seeing the player’s confidence start to return.

A good away performance before the international break will certainly help that too. Rams fans know the players have got it in them (well almost all of them).

This would be a pivotal victory were the Rams to pick up all three points on Saturday.

It’s a good time to play the men in gold

There are two clubs in the Championship who are currently in a bit of a mess on and off the pitch. Nottingham Forest being one of them, although it would seem many Derby fans will be giving our fierce rivals from down the road much sympathy at the moment.

The other club is Wolves. Although their takeover from Chinese investors may still prove to be successful, and in the long-term it will lead to a change in fortunes, a lot of players were bought in in the summer who haven’t gelled together.

Subsequently, they are now looking for a new manager after Walter Zenga was sacked after only a handful of games in charge.

Whether or not they get a man in for the game Saturday remains to be seen, and it could yet be Nigel Pearson – which would be the coincidence of all coincidences.

The Rams could take advantage of Wolves’ current predicament.

The fans deserve a good performance at Molineux

The Rams’ last two visits to the Black Country for the Derby faithful have been woeful.

Last season’s match was a very toothless performance in which Derby offered very little going forward. Only a Chris Martin free-kick special was all the travelling fans had to cheer about in what was one of the side’s worst away performances of the season.

The campaign before wasn’t a lot better. Playing against a better Wolves team than they will be facing on Saturday, McLaren’s men were in the middle of a spell of seven winless games; which ultimately saw the Rams finishing outside the play-off places.

So it’s about time the Rams gave a good account of themselves at a ground that normally offers very little, and everyone can go into the international break with further renewed optimism.