Nigel Clough

Nigel Clough knows that The Den will provide a hostile atmosphere for the Rams

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Derby County boss Nigel Clough believes his side’s experience at fierce Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest should help his side deal with a hostile atmosphere against Millwall.

The Rams are currently sitting in 12th place, with 41 points – 12 more than the Lions.

“People think that you need 25,000-30,000 supporters to make an atmosphere and to make it intimidating - you don’t,” Clough told Rams Player.

“They (Millwall) do that well and the ground seems to hold the noise in for some reason, so it can be a difficult place to go.

“But it is up to us to try and keep the crowd quiet for the first 10-15 minutes and play our own game.

“It is another good experience for them (the Derby squad) because some of the players, particularly the youngsters, won’t have played there or had the experience of it before.

“So it is another game that when they go in coming seasons, they will be better off for it, but they must deal with it on the day as well.

“There is going to be the odd occasion when they freeze, because they are young. But when you think back to Nottingham Forest in September, the atmosphere there and how intimidating it was on the day, especially with the circumstances in the first five minutes, we coped with that, so they should be able to cope with most things.”