Derry hopes to erase Premiership blues

Shaun Derry has vowed to help Leeds return to the Premiership to erase the memory of his bitter experience with Crystal Palace.

Following Palace’s surprise play-off final victory over West Ham two years ago, Derry believed his Premiership dream was set to come true.

But manager Iain Dowie had other ideas, benching the key midfielder as Palace embarked on their top-flight adventure, and instead turning to youth.

An unhappy Derry ended up playing less than two hours of Premiership football spread over seven appearances before being dumped altogether and then farmed out on loan to Nottingham Forest.

After two months at the City Ground, Derry eventually joined Leeds in February 2005, and he has become a firm crowd favourite with his all-action performances.

It means Derry is again one match away from realising his ambition, with Watford standing in his way in Sunday’s Coca-Cola Championship play-off final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

However, the Hornets appear no obstacle to Derry’s single-minded goal as he said: “What happened with Palace makes me doubly determined to go up and make my mark in the Premier League.

“That was a bitter pill to swallow. Iain Dowie, who I still respect enormously as a manager, explained to me he wanted to bring in a few of the younger boys, to give them their chance.

“With me being an experienced player, I had my own views, so we both decided it was time to part company.

“I know I’m at a better place now, both in terms of my football and my personal life.

“I’m delighted to be at Leeds, and I’m very proud and privileged to pull on the white jersey, but I want to be doing that in the Premier League.

“I’ve spent eight years in this division, and it’s a tough one to get out of. Now I just want to play in the Premiership so badly.

“I’m so determined to beat Watford that I can’t look any further ahead than Sunday.

“Beating West Ham a couple of years ago has been the highlight of my career so far, but if we get the right result on Sunday then it will top that.

“I’m just so focused on the game I wish it was now.”

Derry also knows what it is to suffer the bitter experience of losing a play-off final, as he did with Notts County in 1996 when they lost 2-0 to Bradford in an old Second Division encounter.

For Derry, forget Champions League and FA Cup finals, missing out in the play-offs is heartbreaking.

“I’ve had the experience of winning and losing in a play-off final,” confirmed Derry.

“With Notts County in ’96, we were the clear favourites to go up, but we lost 2-0.

“Then a couple of seasons ago at Palace we were the underdogs, yet we won 1-0, so form goes out of the window.

“I know from experience it’s the best final to win and the worst one to lose.

“Obviously, nobody wants to go to any cup final and lose. You feel so dejected that you wish you had never got there in the first place.

“But when you look at a play-off final, it’s such an important game, not just for the players, but for the clubs because there is so much money riding on it.

“That has to go out of the window for the 90 minutes. We just have to be calm, collected and focused. It’s about whoever can keep their nerve on the day.

“We know it’s going to take more than your average performance to win. You have to play at a different level, and hopefully that will get you the right result.”