Derby County Head Coach Paul Warne has challenged his players to get themselves on another unbeaten run after their impressive sequence of 15 without defeat in Sky Bet League One came to an end with a 3-2 reverse at Wycombe Wanderers.
A 10th-minute Sam Vokes volley opened the scoring for Wycombe before a close-range James Collins finish got Derby level at Adams Park.
Lewis Wing's second half double saw Wycombe move two goals ahead and - although a fine late Lewis Dobbin goal for Warne’s side threatened a further twist - the Chairboys held on to inflict a first defeat since October on Derby in League One action.
Warne caught up with RamsTV after the final whistle to offer his verdict on the contest with the Chairboys.
On the game…
It was a frustrating one for us on the side of the pitch. I thought we started the game really well, but they went and got a goal on the counterattack to take the lead and that is frustrating. Other than a chance or two for Wycombe, I thought we were the team in the ascendancy really. I thought we deserved a goal for our play. I didn’t think it was a tactical game as such; Wycombe are good at home and they make it difficult for you to play against them. We perhaps just didn’t have enough in the final third to win the game, although we did have plenty of opportunities to get shots in when we did. In our general play, I thought we did well. I need to watch the 90 minutes back and critique it.
How to react to a rare defeat…
I can’t fault the players for their effort and energy; it was just in the final third. As good as our play was, it’s about taking your chances. We weren’t ruthless enough and that is disappointing. The lads are hurting and I’ve told them to feel it for half and hour and then focus on the next game. I don’t want them sulking. We’ve lost a game; but we have another in three days and we’ve got back-to-back home matches coming up against Lincoln City and Charlton Athletic. Two wins would have us in a good place again. I don’t come away from this game feeling any different about the lads; they’ve been on an amazing run and they fight until the end. In all fairness, I am proud of them.
On what he said to the players after…
I told them that I was proud of them, you can ask them that. Defeats do hurt and they are part of sport. It hurts me too. I don’t want to feel like that after our next game and what we have do now is focus on what we can improve on. I am really happy with where we are and how the team have been playing. We are in a good place and it was just one of those days where things maybe didn’t go our way. Fair play to Wycombe, they go away with their win and we need to pick ourselves up for Tuesday. There’s not much between games; it’s the smallest or margins and today our small margins weren’t good enough to win and to win at places like this you need things to go for you. That’s the truth and everything else is what it is.
