Ben Osborn: Derby County capable of avoiding relegation, says midfielder

Since beating promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion in late December, Derby have suffered six successive Championship defeats to tumble eight places into the bottom three.

Their run also includes a seventh defeat, when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by League One side Leyton Orient on penalties.

Despite the woeful run of results, Osborn said the victory against West Brom, as well as convincing wins against Bristol City and Portsmouth earlier in the season, is evidence of the Rams’ capabilities.

“In other teams where I have been in relegation scraps, whenever we won it was scrappy 1-0 or 2-1 or something like that, and here we have had some really good performances where we have run all over other teams. And that doesn’t happen if you are a team destined to be near the bottom of the table,” he said.

“So we have got it in us. But first and foremost we need to take the lead in games, but failing that we need to be a bit more resolute throughout the whole 90 minutes.”

In Derby’s fight to avoid an immediate return to League One they next face Osborn’s former side, high-flying Sheffield United on Saturday.