Derby ready to battle for local pride

Derby defender Jason Shackell feels there is no better platform for his side to re-ignite their npower Championship promotion push from than the Pride Park clash with Nottingham Forest.

Nigel Clough's men head into the East Midlands derby on the back of two straight defeats after following their FA Cup exit to Stoke with their first league defeat of the year at Barnsley in midweek.

And although the Rams start the game as heavy favourites with Forest languishing second bottom of the table on the back of three straight losses, Shackell knows it is the kind of game where form goes out of the window.

Shackell told Derby's official website dcfc.co.uk: "It's going to be a huge game and there's no point in playing it down - it's a massive one for both Derby and for Forest.

"It's important for the clubs, the fans and the league, and local bragging rights are at stake too. I know what it means to the supporters and hopefully we can get another good result.

"Automatically a game like this should raise everyone's motivation. We need to get back to how we've been performing in the last few months, and not like we did in the first half against Barnsley."