Pre-Match Thoughts: Warne Previews Cobblers Clash

Head Coach Paul Warne believes back-to-back wins could start to make the Sky Bet League One table look far better for Derby County - and he's eager to see more consistency from his side.

The Rams haven't been able to string consecutive wins together in league action over the course of October but Warne is hoping Tuesday's midweek clash with Northampton Town at Pride Park Stadium, ahead of FA Cup and EFL Trophy action in the next week, can get the ball rolling once again.

Speaking to RamsTV on Monday, the Head Coach previewed a return under the lights at Pride Park.

On Saturday's loss at Stevenage...

We underperformed. We had moments but not enough moments. The opposition were better than us, more aggressive than us and deserved their win. If we are going to be successful, we have to pick points up on the road and be better than that and I think the lads agree. You can't keep saying the same things all the time and expect a different result or you're insane. I understand everyone's frustration because we have to be better than that.

On earning the right to play...

I don't think we won the personal battles on Saturday and it's not only that, you have to be tight on throw-ins, set-pieces, have to go with runners and things like that. It's that part of the game that gives you an opportunity.

The other part of it is when you have the ball, you have to be brave on it. It's a combination of the two and neither side of our game on Saturday was enough to win and that's why the scoreline was what it was.

On the quick turnaround ahead of Tuesday...

We came in today and we've got a few of the lads with a couple of issues so it's harder to name the team right now and after a defeat there's more things to address. We have to show the lads things but if you show them too many things, then what confidence they have, they lose. It's a thin line between being over-critical and under-critical so when you have just one day to prepare for the next game, it is not long. Sometimes a quick turnaround is a good thing. We get to wipe ourselves down and have a go again against a promoted team in Northampton that will ask us different questions. We need to go out on the front foot to perform and get three points.

On Joe Ward returning from injury...

Joe has been whipping in set-pieces and everything today, he looked really good and it's nice to have him back and a little bit closerm to full fitness.

On Tuesday's team selection...

I've got a couple of queries. Sometimes you feel you need to change things to freshen the team up. We've got three games in a week again, so I've got a couple of things I'm chewing over at the moment.

On using last Tuesday's win over Exeter as a marker...

We need to go on a run. No fan will listen to this and think 'he's got this on lock' - it's the obvious thing to say, but we need back-to-back wins. If we were to win tomorrow night and we win against Barnsley in our next league game then we might find ourselves in the play-offs with a game in hand and life looks a little better. If you ever underestimate the opposition then you are in trouble. Every team has something to fight for and I understand we're a scalp in this league but if we perform at the level we did on Saturday then we won't be a scalp for long.