Kemar Roofe drops "massive club" claim as he breaks Derby County silence | OneFootball

The Rams have signed the former Leeds United striker as a free agent for the rest of the season.

Kemar Roofe has spoken for the first time as a Derby County player after signing for the rest of the season to help the club in their battle against relegation.

The former Leeds United striker left Rangers in the summer after having a tough time with injuries at Ibrox, and he has been without a club until now.

The Rams are in desperate need of goals and the 32-year-old has the capacity to supply these following three strong seasons in the Championship in the past with the Whites before he departed for Belgian club RSC Anderlecht following the conclusion of the 2018/19 campaign.

Roofe is the first signing of the John Eustace era, as Derby get ready for their new head coach's first home game since he made the switch from Blackburn Rovers a week ago.

Roofe's first words as a Ram

The signing of the forward has come as a surprise to many, but the Rams needed reinforcements, and he joins Jerry Yates and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen as the team's only senior striker options.

He will be available to play against Millwall on Saturday, but his fitness levels are a relative unknown at this point.

Nevertheless, he spoke to Derby's in-house media team for the first time as a Ram on Thursday after the deal was confirmed.

"It's one that I wasn't expecting at all from start to finish, but I won't get into the meat of it because it's all complicated, but the final part is the most important and I'm here now and I'm excited to get going. It has been all about mental strength, just to getting through what I needed to get through and also having the drive and the focus to stay fit and keep working on myself and keep running every day, keep doing my gym every day until the opportunity came along and finally it has."

When asked about previous games against his new club, he said: "As a striker, you kind of remember all your goals. You might need a reminder a little bit of a video or something, but as soon as you see it, you feel like you're in that moment again and you live every second of it in slow motion. I enjoy all my goals, but hopefully, I can score goals for Derby this time.

"Hopefully, I’ll be a better one [striker], more experienced and every season I try and learn something new every time. So hopefully I can show that out on the pitch."

On why he chose Derby, he explained: "This is a massive club. And even just coming to the training ground, the facilities, speak for themselves. The new gaffer was also a major influence on my decision to come here.

"I have also worked with Keith Downing as my youth team manager, so I know him. I've come and trained with the squad, the players, the staff, and everybody has made me feel welcome as if I've been here for months already. I'm looking forward to it. And I'm always ready. I'll do my best whenever I'm called upon."

Roofe may give Derby the boost that they need

It's been a torrid few months for the Rams and bringing in a fresh face at this stage of the season could prove to be a difference maker in terms of the relegation battle.

A win against Millwall on Saturday could see Derby climb to 20th in the Championship table, and getting out of the bottom three is huge for their confidence.

Eustace has had a full week to work with his new team and the understanding of the system should be better than it was against QPR last Friday, and with a raucous Pride Park backing them, there is no reason that the Rams can not get a result.

Just as Dwight Gayle was able to do last season, Roofe has the opportunity to score important goals in a short space of time and help bring Derby to safety as they look to secure their Championship status for another season.