Haydon Roberts received a coffee mug from Derby County boss Paul Warne after scoring his first goal for the club in their 3-1 win over MK Dons on Saturday.
The new Rams boss’ mantra of ‘score a goal, get a mug’ has delighted Albion’s out on loan defender, who will be putting it to use soon.
“I’ve got it, but I haven’t used it yet!" Roberts told DCFC.co.uk. "I have about five or six cups of tea a day so I am buzzing with that! I am delighted to have scored and even more so to have got the win,” he said.
“It means the world [to have scored]. To score my first league goal is different, I have scored in the Carabao Cup for Brighton, which was a big moment. But to score for Derby in the league, it’s a massive achievement, it’s something I will remember for life.
“I haven’t really thought about scoring, I’ve been focussing on keeping the ball out of our net.”
The defender started in Derby’s recent goalless draw in the Carabao Cup to Liverpool, before his team were knocked out on penalties.
“Every boy’s dream is to play at places like Anfield, when they’re singing ‘You’ll never walk alone’, you don’t realise how iconic a place it is until you’re there.
“I watched a game at Anfield when I was younger, but being on the pitch is a different thing altogether and it’s a moment I will never forget. Hopefully I can play there again in the near future.”
The Rams are back in Cup action tonight [Tuesday] when they take on Torquay United, with a place in the Emirates FA Cup second round up for grabs.