Derby County got off to the perfect start under new Head Coach Paul Warne with a 2-0 win at Cambridge United on Saturday afternoon.
A James Collins double, with a goal in either half, was enough to ensure the Rams landed their first away victory of the season in League One and kick off the Warne era in style.
The gaffer caught up with RamsTV following the game to give his thoughts on the win and share his delight at what has been a real positive first week with the club.
On the win…
Really good. We’ve had an amazing week. The players have been excellent, and they’ve been really well coached and looked after before we came in. Liam Rosenior has done a really good job with them. We haven’t done a lot truth be told and we’d like to do more as the games go by but to win and to score away from home is so pleasing.
I’m buzzing with the first goal because as a centre-forward when the ball goes in behind and you’re nowhere near it it’s easy to think: 'Do you know what? It’s going through to the goalkeeper' but Collo didn’t. He made it hard, forced the error and took his goal well. For him to score two goals is good and I thought the whole back line limited them to very little. I'm really, really pleased with them.
It’s nice because everyone at the club has been so nice to us all, it’s been a bit humbling really so it’s nice that we’ve been able to give them a win and cheer the whole club up.
On the team’s hard work…
You have to run to play for us; you have to. Even when you’re tired, you have to.
Winning football games is painful, I know. The lads are exhausted in there but they will feel great when they’ve got their lungs back. I thought the lads' pressing was excellent today. This is an excellent Cambridge United team that were higher than us in the league and play really good football. Our pressing didn’t give them any time on the ball. The midfield three and the wing-backs were great. They are going to sleep well and it epitomised it really with the front two. All in all I couldn’t have asked for a better performance.
On James Collins…
He didn’t get a hat-trick did he?! He can’t become my Americano without a hat-trick but he can be my first cup of tea of the day.
Obviously, I’ve watched Collo’s career for years and he scores goals.
My former Rotherham player Will Vaulks text me and said: 'Collo is right up your street gaffer' - and he is. He works really hard, he’s really committed, he leads the line really well and he scored us two goals today.
I said to him when I came in that he would love working for us because we’re all about crosses and getting the ball in the box but ironically he didn’t score off a cross - so that shows what I know! I’m really pleased with him and really pleased with the team.
On the team as a whole….
The clean-sheet is so pleasing. I thought when we needed to we took the pressure off and marshalled things really well. Curtis Davies wasn’t feeling great yesterday so I am really pleased he got through the game. It looked like he was chugging a bit in fairness, but he’s been ill.
We limited them to very few chances, on another day we could have had four or five really and that’s what we’ve got to try and get better at because on another day, you’re 1-0 up and with 15 minutes to go and they get one and then you can see an opportunity to win a game change to lose it very quickly.
It’s all about getting the third, the fourth and showing them no mercy really. I am really pleased with them. I knew this was a good group, hence why I left a really secure job in the Championship to come here. I just think that if we go on a run and we believe, who knows? I know we’re going to lose games but generally if that’s their work ethic it gives me massive hope that we can achieve something.
On the performance…
I think my favourite thing was their effort. Winning is not easy. You have to put yourself through a lot of pain. I thought we pressed harder and when we had to we turned them. In League One, sometimes you just have to turn them - that’s how football is. You can’t always be the passing team that plays their way out of trouble. Sometimes you have to turn them and cause problems and like when Will Osula came on, as Dobs did prior to that, we kept stretching the game.
I like the fact the lads ran hard and they played a couple of ways when they had to and that’s down to them. They aren’t robots, they make decisions and more often than not today they made the right ones.
On David McGoldrick…
I spoke to him when I came in and he’s got a bit of a sore groin. He’s going to be a couple of weeks, maybe three weeks. Obviously we want him back because he is another diamond for us going forward. If you get him in the final third of the pitch, anything can happen.
On the travelling fans…
Excellent. There’s a couple of songs that stuck in my head.
I really appreciate it and the players appreciate it. In the 75th minute when you cheer a tackle, it helps, I’m telling you as a former footballer, it helps. When you feel like everyone is on your side and everyone is applauding it makes you work that bit harder.
This win is for everyone at the football club. Everyone who has travelled, everyone who has spent money in pretty dour times, everyone who has done that – the players are just the embodiment of the fans.
If I was a fan of Derby County, which I am now obviously, I’d have been really pleased with the efforts the lads put in. You don’t always get what you deserve in life but I thought today we did.
I would like to thank the fans, I thought they were hilarious at the end and the songs were brilliant. Luckily my daughter wasn’t here because there was swearing in them! Hopefully they go home being really proud to be Derby fans as I am to be the Derby Head Coach.
