"Getting better": Derby County star reflects on upturn in form heading into Lincoln clash

Derby County play their last game before Christmas this evening as they face Lincoln City.

The Rams are six games unbeaten winning five, but they dropped points in a slightly disappointing draw at the weekend to Wycombe Wanderers.

Derby boss Paul Warne will be hoping his side can get back to winning ways and put some pressure on the teams in and around the promotion places.

They currently sit in sixth and will face a Lincoln side who are currently ninth and just five points behind the Rams.

Ahead of the game, Derby County captain Conor Hourihane has been reflecting on the recent good form and says that the team are in a good place.

Speaking to Rams TV, he said: "I think we've done okay. We started off slowly, we couldn't find our rhythm and were very inconsistent. We'd win an important game and maybe get a draw or loss straight afterwards where we couldn't find the rhythm or back-to-back wins to put pressure on those around us.

"We've found it a little bit more over the last month. We were disappointed not to hold on at the weekend Wycombe, we weren't at our best but still should have held on to win.

"We're starting to find our feet a little now; our performances are getting better and we're becoming stronger as a team and a group."

The game tonight has been brought forward which means the Rams don't play at the weekend. That means that it will be the last game before Christmas and their next challenge which comes on Boxing Day.

Hourihane, says it will be nice for the players to go into Christmas on the back of a win, he said: "If we get a good result it will be even better because we can put pressure on other teams. It's our last game before Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the lads are desperate for a result so they can enjoy a couple of days heading into the Boxing Day game at Wigan.

"It's nice that it's been brought forward and hopefully we can make that to our advantage."

Derby's captain also added that it was vital the Rams made the most of what is a busy Christmas period, it gives them a chance to put more pressure on the teams around them.

Hourihane added: "We always go through stages with a lot of games in a short period of time but this period now cranks it up even more. It's an exciting period though because if you get some positive results you can really fly up that table.

"It's an important time for us, definitely."

Derby County vs Lincoln City kicks off tonight at 7.45pm at Pride Park Stadium.