Captain Goode excited to go up against Rooney in FA Cup clash with Derby

Captain Charlie Goode says he's looking forward to potentially coming up against 'one of the best ever' in Wayne Rooney when the Cobblers host Derby County in the fourth-round of the FA Cup later this month.
Charlie GoodeCharlie Goode
Charlie Goode

After beating Burton Albion 4-2 on Sunday, Town were handed a home tie against the Championship outfit in Monday's fourth-round draw.

Rooney, England's record goalscorer, officially signed for Derby as a player-coach in January and made his debut for the club in the 2-1 win over Barnsley on New Year's Day.

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The former England skipper also captained the Rams during their shock win over Premier League Crystal Palace on Saturday and his reward is a trip to the PTS between January 24-27.

Asked if he's looking forward to going up against Rooney, Goode told BBC Radio 5Live: "Yeah, for sure, and we'll have a lot of young supporters who would be dying to see someone like Wayne Rooney play at our ground.

"It'll be a great day for the fans and they'll turn out in all their numbers and hopefully they'll be able to see one of the best ever play.

"I think a lot of supporters would have been looking out for the big away day but it's Derby at home and hopefully we get a full house - we'll be looking to cause another upset."

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Derby also have a former team-mate of Goode in their ranks.

"I used to play with one of Derby's players at my time at Scunthorpe in Duane Holmes," added Goode. "I think he's played quite a lot this season and it would be nice because it'd be the first time I've gone up against him.

"I spoke to him briefly so it would be an exciting one for us and hopefully I can give him a tough day."

Despite all the excitement of Cobblers' FA Cup run, trying to win promotion out of League Two remains the priority.

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Goode continued: "Our main focus this season is to finish strongly in the league and we're aiming for promotion but with such a big game around the corner a lot of people will be desperate to play in that one.

"It's important to focus on the league up until the cup tie and I'm sure a lot of the lads will be trying to put in performances to make sure they're starting that day."