Close-knit Rams enjoying resurgence

Derby County's sudden upturn in form has been nothing short of spectacular, with four wins out of five matches since returning from the October international break.

A combination of five at the back, with energy and technical ability from David Ozoh and Bobby Clark in midfield, a number nine who can't stop scoring, and a real sense of togetherness has led the Rams to look pretty unstoppable in recent weeks.

Perhaps one of the most notable signs of the squad's togetherness came at the end of Tuesday's 2-1 win over Hull City, as Lars Jorgen-Salvesen came off the bench to score his first Pride Park goal for the club.

After the Norwegian struck the winner, the Derby bench erupted, all of the outfield players sprinted the length of the pitch to join in the celebrations, and at full-time Salvesen was pushed towards the South Stand by his peers to take all the plaudits from the fans.

Pretty special scenes to witness for a player who has struggled to get many minutes, has had to work extremely hard after spending time out with injury, and clearly has so much passion for the club.

Salvesen's heroics haven't been the only sign that this team seems to have a strong bond.

At the weekend, Carlton Morris was praised on the pitch after the match, and later on social media, by all of his team-mates for scoring his first career hat-trick.

He also put in a crunching tackle on a Hull player, after Ozoh had been on the receiving end of a late challenge minutes prior.

Danny Batth stormed off the bench to defend fellow centre-back Dion Sanderson at full-time last night, as tensions from both camps boiled over.

And Jacob Zetterstrom celebrated as if Derby had scored as he raced out of his goal to chest bump Sondre Langas for making a last ditch, goal-saving tackle.

These moments are just a few examples of how close-knit this team seem to be at the moment. The connection between staff, players, and fans feels like it is at its peak since John Eustace joined the club.

Whilst you have to have the quality to win football matches, which Derby absolutely have for the past few weeks, you also have to have a group of players who are willing to fight for each other, and that has been shown in abundance over the past four matches.

No Championship games are easy, but if there was a fixture where the squad would need to stick together and fight for each other, it would be Blackburn Rovers away.

After Eustace took the bragging rights last season, Blackburn fans, staff, and players are no doubt ready to taunt their former boss for 90 minutes on Saturday, as they 'welcome' him back to Ewood Park.

With both teams going into the fixture in good form, and with plenty of incentive from both camps to win the game, the Rams' togetherness will be more crucial than ever on their quest to make it five from five, and remain in the top half of the table.

You can often catch Amelia Warren as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.