DerbyMad: A good performance by you on Monday, and the suggestion from the manager that you will start against Wigan on Saturday.
Pablo Mills: It was a very good game all round for the team and especially for me. We kept a clean sheet, which is an added bonus.
DM: It must have been very frustrating for you as you haven’t been in the forefront of the managers’ plans this season so far.
PM: It has been a bit frustrating not playing. But I have kept my head down and played for the reserves and waited for my chance.
DM: Your chance has come now and you have taken it, and by my reckoning this will be the first FA Cup match that you have started.
PM: Yes you are right. It is everyone’s dream to play in the FA Cup and it will be nice.
DM: Probably at this level no bigger side than Wigan to come up against.
PM: We have played Wigan in the league and they have shown what a good side they are and it will be a tough one for us, but hopefully we can come away with a win.
DM: You played against Wigan in the 1-1 draw at the start of the season, so you already know quite a lot about Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts.
PM: Yes. They are a very good striking pair. They have a stack of goals between them. So we know that they are going to be dangerous. I think if we can do well against those two then we have a good chance of winning the game.
DM: How do you do well against those 2. I know that you are a strong lad but they are both strong and fast.
PM: We can only battle against them and hope to nullify them.
DM: Obviously you succeeded when they played here, because although they missed a hatful of chances a lot of that was down to the quality of the Derby defending.
PM: Yes we defended well and luckily for us they weren’t on form on that day either.
DM: What is the feeling in the camp for a cup run – it is something that we have not had at Derby for a while.
PM: I think we are just going into it as another game really. Another game that we would like to win against a top side, and hopefully we will.
DM: It must be a good time to go into it after getting out of that 2 match losing run with victory at Reading.
PM: Yes it is going to be a good challenge for us to see if we can put another good run together.
DM: Let’s talk about you for a bit. You are out of contract in the summer. What are your hopes for the future?
PM: We will see what happens at the end of the season. Hopefully I will stay at Derby though. Obviously that is up to the manager. But I will just keep playing and see what happens when the season is over.
DM: You have given yourself a good platform to build on now that you have forced your way into his plans.
PM: I think that I have done all that IK can. I’ve come in and played. Hopefully done well and now it is up to the manager.