Play-offs are” – Curtis Nelson drops bold Derby County claim

Curtis Nelson has made an extremely bold claim on Derby County’s chances of finishing in a play-off position at the end of the season.

The 31-year-old was awarded a new contract until the end of the 2025/26 campaign on Thursday afternoon following an extremely impressive first 15 months in black-and-white, in which he has played every minute of league action.

 

The Rams have made a very steady start on their return to the Championship after a two-year hiatus playing League One football, and while they may have missed out on a few victories, Paul Warne will be more than proud of the way his players have adapted to the division.

The East Midlands club are currently sat 12th in the table after 15 games, level on points with Swansea City, behind them only on goal difference. Early fears of relegation, while they have not been fully quashed, are a bit more of an after-thought right now, and supporters are seeing a mid-table finish as a more than reasonable target.

However, Derby’s ever-present centre-back has even higher ambitions for his second season at Pride Park.

Nelson makes Derby play-off claim

The Rams have won five of their first 15 matches in the Championship, picking up four draws, and losing six times. If they acquire the same number of points in the next two-thirds of the campaign as they did in the first, they would come close to reaching the 60 point mark, a tally that could put them in touching distance of the top six.

Warne and his players will know that they could have easily picked up another six points at the very least, and results like the one against Plymouth Argyle will frustrate him.

Nevertheless, this has not stopped Nelson from believing that himself and his teammates could be in the fight for a play-off place come May.

When asked by Derby’s in-house media about the targets he has set this season, he said: “Promotion is probably at the top of everyone’s list, isn’t it? You get into the promised land.

“But, I think we’re not far off where we want to be. Play-offs are definitely within reach, you’re never too far away, I guess, because where the table is at the moment it’s quite tight. So, I think it’s one of those seasons where if you have a good run, you put a good run of games together, you never know what could happen.

“I think if we can aim as high as we can, you never know what could happen.”

Derby will have to improve their consistency

If the Rams are to reach Nelson’s lofty ambitions, then their consistency in games will have to improve, as they often let their oppositions back into matches when they perhaps should have been out of sight.

They did this against Plymouth before the international break, failing to add to their early goal before a deflected free kick from Adam Randell levelled the game just before half-time. They also had an extremely poor first-half against Oxford United that saw them draw once again in a game that they should have claimed all three points from.

Derby do have the potential in the coming seasons to mount promotion and play-off challenges, but this one is probably too early on in their revival to take that next step. However, that should not be seen as a negative.

Warne’s side have done brilliantly to become a competitive Championship side so quickly while working off a limited budget, and the future is extremely bright.

Nevertheless, a surprise play-off campaign would not be turned down by supporters, and they would more than welcome their first top six finish in the second tier since 2019.