Derby County haven't been beaten by Leeds United in 12 games - a run that stretches back nine years.

But in-form Derby forward Johnny Russell has warned his teammates to be wary of a Leeds side who will be desperate to break the run when the two teams meet this weekend.

Russell, who won his first Scotland call-up earlier this month,  believes Neil Redfearn's men could be inspired to put in an extra shift in order to finally defeat The Rams.

"It's a big rivalry," Russell said, speaking to the club's official site.

"They haven’t beat us in a while as well so they will be wanting to change that and set that straight.

"We are the same, though, we want to keep going and we want to keep winning so it will make for an exciting game, Although it is a difficult away fixture, hopefully we can get the result."

Derby are currently top of the Sky Bet Championship, three points clear of second-placed Bournemouth. After a slow start to the season, Russell's form is finally starting to echo that of his team, with the Scot scoring three times in his last three appearances.

He believes mental strength has been just as important in Derby's success this season as the exciting attacking style that has seen them become the league's team to beat.

"You need to show character in every game, the gaffer speaks about earning the right to play and you need to compete," Russell said to dcfc.co.uk.

"We do need to compete before we play the football we play. Teams aren't going to just let us play that because they know what we can do if they do let us.

"We have got everything. People have seen the football we play, but that's not all we have got about us, if we need to dig in and grind out a result we can do that as well."