Derby vs Chelsea: Steve McClaren hopes Derby can measure up to Jose Mourinho standard in the Capital One Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Steve McClaren, the Derby County manager, is interested to discover tonight against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup how far his side has progressed since being knocked out by Jose Mourinho’s team in the FA Cup in January. “I want to see how our players perform – have we moved on from a year ago? Because Chelsea have,” he said.
Derby, third in the Championship after losing 2-0 at Middlesbrough on Saturday, face the Premier League leaders at the iPro Stadium tonight – a rematch of the FA Cup third-round tie last season, which Chelsea won 2-0. The Hull City manager, Steve Bruce, insisted Mourinho’s side have no flaws before their 2-0 defeat on Saturday and McClaren has also failed to find any.
“At the moment they are the strongest. I can’t see a weakness, we tried to find one and it lasted about five seconds,” he said. “We have to be at our very best, very, very best to come even close. We want to do that and we are capable of doing that.
“They are the best team in the Premier League and in Europe. They have only lost one game and only lost it because they ran out of time [against Newcastle]. We have to perform at our best to stay in the game and have a chance of achieving our dream result. But they will have to be at their best. Mourinho will respect us and appreciate that. We don’t expect any favours.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments