Video: Jamie reflects on Derby spell but does not regret moving to Forest
Jamie Ward is not treating tomorrow’s game against his ex-club Derby any differently.
And he said he would not be letting his feelings for his former club stop him from putting a hundred per cent in for the Reds at Pride Park on Saturday.
The pint-sized forward has been sidelined since limping off in the first half against Huddersfield last month but the Northern Ireland international has now been declared fit to play at a ground where he spent more than four years.
You still prepare for it exactly the same on the training pitch
Ward believes it is important that he and his team-mates ‘do everything normally’ and do not let themselves get distracted by the occasion.
He said: “Obviously, you feel like there’s a little bit more pressure on you, which is understandable with it meaning so much to the fans around the city
“You still prepare for it exactly the same on the training pitch.”
When Ward signed in the summer, he joined the likes of Robert Earnshaw and Nathan Tyson in playing for both the Reds and Rams.
He believes it might add a bit of spice to proceedings tomorrow but he’d try to forget about past friendships.
“I just see it as another game of football. You’ve got to prepare right and you go in trying to put in the best performance you possibly can,” he added.
“There’s obviously a little bit extra for me with it being Derby because of having to go back and see how I’ll be reacted to.”
