Johnny Russell labelled Derby County’s 1-0 victory over Burton Albion at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday as a ‘great team performance’.
The Scottish wideman came off the bench in the second-half to net what proved to be the match-winning goal after capitalising on Chris Martins rebound from close-range.
For large spells of the game, Gary Rowett’s side were left extremely frustrated in front of goal despite creating numerous chances.
This is something which Russell believes the Rams need to deal with better as he says that more and more often, teams are coming to Derby with the intention of sitting deep.
Speaking to RamsTV, Russell explained: “A lot of teams are going to come to Pride Park and set-up how both Ipswich and Burton have done.
“We haven’t been the best at breaking them down and although we’ve had chances, we haven’t really capitalised on them.
“It’s difficult when teams play like that against you but it’s up to us to keep calm and stay patient because we know that we will create chances.”
As for the fixture, Russell had this to say: “We knew it was going to be a difficult match. It’s the old cliché that every game in this league is tough.
“It was pretty similar to the game earlier in the week against Ipswich, except we didn’t manage to break them down.
“We got that little bit of luck in the box and you need that sometimes to get a result.
“We played some nice stuff the other night and some nice stuff again on Saturday.”
Russell has had to be patient for his opportunity, but the tricky forward is grateful that he could play his part.
And with his last goal coming against Reading in a 4-2 defeat at the beginning of November, the Scottish wideman is happy that this team, the goal that he scored had meaning come the end of the game.
“It was a case of being in the right place in the right time.” Russell added.
“It was a great little run Chris (Martin) to test the goalie and luckily for me, I’ve managed to be there when it’s fell nicely. I’m just happy that I could come on and play my part.
“It’s been frustrating not playing, but the boys that have come in have been brilliant, so I can’t really complain.
“It was up to me to keep working hard so that when I’m called upon, to do the best for the team. Thankfully I’ve been able to do that.”
