Stephen Warnock has claimed that Derby County's solid run of form over the past two months has left fellow Championship clubs fearful of facing his side.
The Rams have lost just one of their last 12 games in a run stretching back to mid-September, coming against Nottingham Forest in a 1-0 defeat prior to the recent international break.
Derby now face two of their direct automatic promotion rivals over the coming fortnight, with Friday night's clash against Hull City - the only side in better form than County - being followed up by a meeting with unbeaten Brighton & Hove Albion.
Speaking to the club's official website ahead of the first of that tough double header, Warnock said: "Coming out of the international break, we identified this period as an important one where we are facing the teams that are in and around us and are going to be up there come the end of the season.
"We know we are one of those sides, but teams are going to be looking at us and fearing us because of the results that we have put together over the last three months. The unbeaten run that we put together before the Nottingham Forest game is one that we know we are capable of achieving again."
Derby can climb to the top of the Championship table this evening should they get the better of league leaders Hull at the KC Stadium.
Daniel Lewis
