Rowett Praises 'Opportunistic' Russell

Gary Rowett praised Derby County for making the most of their opportunities as Johnny Russell’s late goal secured a 1-0 win against Burton Albion on Saturday.

The Brewers defended deep throughout, leaving Derby with the task of breaking them down and they had to wait until the 82nd minute to grab the goal, which came thanks to a powerful finish from the Scottish winger.

Rowett admitted that his side were lacking a finishing touch for most of the afternoon, but he was pleased with Derby’s perseverance and the eventual breakthrough.

He told RamsTV: “In the first half we put together some really good attacking moves, and it was just that final cross, shot or bit of quality.

“They defended resolutely, Matty Palmer had an opportunity to clear it, but he took a touch and it fell to Johnny.

“He was really bright when he came on, I nearly started him today because we felt that we needed players that could beat someone and Johnny has that ability, he did really well when he came on.

“It was opportunistic but that was what we needed, someone to just come up with something out of nothing and he finished it brilliantly.”

The Derby boss explained the importance of the win, especially after the defeat to a similarly defensive Ipswich Town side on Tuesday night.

He said: “It was a big win because if we had another game like Ipswich, of course it would have been very nervy around here.

“With these games, it doesn’t matter how you win, you’ve just got to find a goal from somewhere.”

Rowett rotated his team for the visit of Nigel Clough’s side, with Marcus Olsson and Chris Martin coming in, as well as George Thorne who was making his first league start since May 2016.

With Derby in good form, the 43-year-old – who previously managed today’s opponents from 2012 until 2014 – expressed his reluctance to make too many changes, but he was delighted to be able to give the midfielder his chance.

He added: “Joe Ledley and Tom Huddlestone have been a fantastic partnership and I’ve not felt the need to change too much.

“I would have kept him on for the whole game, but I thought it was sensible to bring him off, it was great to see him out there.”