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Derry's dream ticket
As part of skysports.com's Championship spotlight, Chris Burton catches up with Queens Park Rangers midfielder Shaun Derry.
Championship Spotlight Posted 4th May 2011 view comments
There may still be one potentially damaging issue for Queens Park Rangers to address this season, but for those whose focus lies away from Football Association third-party ownership wrangles, the 2010/11 campaign is one which will live long in the memory for all the right reasons.
While rules are rules and must be adhered to by one and all, it is difficult to see how the FA could justify preventing QPR from taking their rightful place in the Premier League next season.
Neil Warnock's men have led the Championship pretty much from start to finish and deserved to taste the ecstasy of a promotion party last weekend.
Not once have they dropped out of the top two this season, with a 4-0 mauling of Barnsley on the opening day setting the tone for what was to follow.
What did follow was a 19-game unbeaten start to the campaign, with it clear from the outset that Rangers were going to be THE side to beat in the second tier.
Those lofty standards have been maintained throughout and the club is now looking forward to rejoining England's elite for the first time in 15 years....or so they hope.
A points deduction would be terribly harsh on the capital club, or least one which sends them tumbling into the play-off pack would be.
Admittedly such a punishment would allow them a second bite at the promotion cherry, but having already proved their worth once, should they really have to go through it all again?
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the FA's investigation into QPR's acquisition of Alejandro Faurlin will be, however, for now those outside of the boardroom are determined to enjoy their moment in the sun.
Shaun Derry, a seasoned campaigner who has been around the block a few times, is among those keen to cast a positive light on the campaign and told skysports.com's Chris Burton this week that he is still coming to terms with what he and the club have achieved.
Phenomenal
He said: "It has been phenomenal really, given the sort of transitional period the club has been through. The manager arrived six or seven games from the end of last season, but player-wise people have come in and have adapted really well and have bonded straight away. It's been a ridiculous season.
"It has been an incredible season in more ways than one for QPR. It started off like a house on fire and the boys have absolutely grasped every opportunity this season and given it their all. We are where we are on merit."
It appeared at one stage as though QPR would run away with the league crown, but they were forced to wait until their second from last game of the season before finally rubber-stamping promotion.
Derry said: "It is a relief in one way, but you have to take into consideration how hard the run-in was. We knew how hard it was going to be. All of the top teams, probably the top four or five, have been on ridiculous runs of late. We knew that we had a real hard run-in. Obviously we would have liked to have got a better result away at Scunthorpe, but the results have been satisfying on the whole because they have been tough games."
The Loftus Road playing staff are keen to start looking ahead to a shot at the Premier League big boys next season, with there considerable top-flight experience already within their ranks.
That should stand them in good stead for what is to come in 2011/12, but Derry appreciates that the odd tweak here and there will be required.
He said: "We are all playing at this level for a reason, on a negative side of things. But on the flip side, on the positive side, we have got players that have earned promotions or played in the top flight. You look throughout our squad and there are a number of guys who are more than capable of holding their own in the Premier League. That's good for us and hopefully the transition from Championship to the Premiership won't be as hard as it has been for other teams."
While confident that QPR are capable of holding their own within the top-flight ranks, Derry appreciates that new recruits will be required over the summer in order to bolster what Warnock already has at his disposal.
He said: "Don't get me wrong, he is a manager who wants to succeed in the Premier League and I'm sure he will use all the backing the chairman and the owners can give him. If he gets a pot of money, I'm sure he would like to spend it. But I'm sure he will want to keep the right spirit and find the right formula again and that will include the boys that are already at the club. We have got that belief and togetherness, so I don't think he will want to mess too much with that side of things."
Warnock is renowned for his somewhat unique approach to football management, which has taken him to the Promised Land once before with Sheffield United.
The outspoken Yorkshireman can often rub opponents up the wrong way, but to those who work alongside and under him, the bubbly 62-year-old is among the best in the business.
Brilliant
On his manager, Derry said: "If you look at his success, with the greatest respect, whenever he has taken teams up to the next level he has not been one of the higher payers in terms of transfer fees. He has done that again here. He brings in the right type of player and the boys have given him everything.
"I can't speak highly enough of him because for me he has been brilliant, for me as an individual. The older you get, you make a judgement on what type of manager he is. From the outside looking in it looks like he gets the best out of his players, and from the inside that is exactly what he is doing. He comes to life on matchday and he gives you the belief that you can go and do what he expects you to do.
"The image he gets is unfair at times. I haven't really seen too many occasions, well not this year because we have done well, but even during the tough days at Crystal Palace where he has lost his rag with the boys. He is obviously passionate and he knows what he wants to see on the pitch. He might not be everyone's cup of tea but he has a lot of friends in football."
Derry certainly considers himself to be a close acquaintance of Warnock, with the experienced coach having offered him a new lease of life.
The 33-year-old was released by basement dwellers Crystal Palace at the end of the 2009/10 campaign, following Warnock's earlier departure, but was not left hanging around in the free-agent pool for long as his former coach came calling once more.
"It's turned on its head in the last 12 months really," said Derry on his remarkable upturn in fortune.
"To get promoted out of it is fantastic for me. We obviously haven't finished this season yet, we have to go to one of my old clubs, Leeds, but I'm really looking forward to what is going to happen over the summer and beyond.
"Your appreciation level rises as you get older, your appreciation for the game. My appreciation is stronger now than it was six or seven years ago. I love football and I pride myself on keeping fit. I love every minute of training and playing the games. It's what you get in the game for."
Derry's passion for the game is reflected in the fact that he has missed just one league game for QPR this season and he feels he has what it takes to grind his way through another testing campaign next term.
He said: "I think the manager would be the first to admit that I've surprised him this year, but I haven't surprised myself because I know that I look after my body. You see a lot of older players going on and on so it hasn't surprised me that I've played this amount of games. Long may it continue."
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