Derby County raring to go for first home game of 2025/26, ready Pride Park Stadium ‘buzz'
Matt Clarke has spoken about the ‘buzz and carnival atmosphere’ at Pride Park as the Rams host Coventry City for their first home game this year.
Derby County’s defender Matt Clarke is ready for the ‘buzz and carnival atmosphere’ of Pride Park Stadium as the Rams look forward to their first home game of 2025/26.
Derby will take to the Pride Park pitch for the first time in the new season when they host Coventry City on Saturday, August 16 (12.30pm kick-off).
Speaking about returning to play to an excited Pride Park crowd, Clarke said: “We finished on a really good note last year.
“You always look forward to the first home game.
“There's always a buzz, a carnival atmosphere at the start of the season.
“But then it's up to us to attack the game and give them something to enjoy.”
The inaugural home tie comes off the back of Derby’s dramatic Carabao Cup antics away to West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night, where Joe Ward’s late equaliser in added time sent the tie to a penalty shoot-out.
John Eustace’s side came out on top from the spot to qualify for the next round.
Rested in midweek, Clarke watched on from the side-lines and says the Rams will be looking to carry the momentum gained in the cup into the league when they face the Sky Blues on home turf.
Speaking about Tuesday’s match, Clarke told RamsTV: “The fighting spirit in the squad… It was brilliant. As someone who was there supporting the lads, it was a really good night.
“The fight in the group comes from the nature of the manager and the staff.
“They demand that every day. Even in the pre-season games, we go to some grounds that maybe don't feel like the biggest event, where you could be off the pace, but there's no room for that with the manager.”
Speaking about the upcoming Coventry game, Clarke said: “We expect a really tough game.
“It's still early in the season in terms of figuring out slight tweaks to systems and what new players will add to teams.
“So, there's still that unknown quality about the games, but we'll be concentrating on ourselves and looking to put our best foot forward and show a good account of ourselves.”