Derby County captain Curtis Davies has admitted it has been a 'strange' week for the squad but insists the focus is on getting three points against Barnsley tonight.

As has been widely reported, Rams pair Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett have been charged with drink-driving following a crash that has ruled centre-back Richard Keogh out for 15 months.

Despite those off-field distractions, Phillip Cocu's side managed to beat Birmingham City on Saturday and Davies told the BBC that it's about concentrating on the football now.

"Me as a footballer, I've tried to keep the lads focused. While everything is happening in the background, games are still coming thick and fast. We have no time, with all due respect, to keep our minds on that.

"The ones out there need to concentrate on winning and giving our all because that's the only way we are going to turn around reputations."

The 34-year-old played his first league game of the season against Blues last time out and is likely to continue in the heart of the defence at Oakwell this evening.

The verdict

There's no doubt that this has been a tough week or so for everyone connected to Derby as they have had the spotlight on them, so they deserve credit for getting three points on Saturday.

That showed a lot of character and they will need to demonstrate that again when they come up against the Tykes later on.

So, experienced players like Davies will be crucial in leading the team and you can imagine that Cocu will be glad to have a figure like the ex-Aston Villa man in the group right now.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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