Post-Match Verdict: 'It Feels Fantastic' - Ward

Derby County's Joe Ward said it felt 'fantastic' to get three points and to be back on the pitch following the 1-0 win at Charlton Athletic in Sky Bet League One on Saturday,

Ward was part of a back five that kept a clean-sheet on the road and the three points, secured by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's first half strike, ultimately saw them jump into the divison's top two.

Speaking to RamsTV after the final whistle, Ward gave his verdict on the performance.

On the win...

It feels fantastic. We came here with a plan and worked as hard as we could. We dug in. We knew it was going to be tough, but we got the three points and that is great.

On how the game panned out...

We knew Charlton would be a threat, they've got some big players that are physical and aggressive so it was always going to be a battle. We dug in, did what we needed to do up until the 90 minutes was up to get the three points.

On how important the win could be...

Massive. Wins like this, 1-0 away from home, are huge and it could definitely be massive come the end of the season.

On being back in the starting eleven...

It's great to play. I've not had many minutes lately but I've been keeping myself right and believing that when I get a chance, I can take it. Hopefully I took it today. It felt good to get some minutes in the legs and help the team to win.

On the competition at the right-back spot alongside Ryan Nyambe and Kane Wilson...

It was great to be playing a bit higher up, which I'm more comfortable in. We have great competition that keeps us all on our toes and we know if one blows up then we've got another strong player to come on. Ultimately that's what you need, strength in every department. That's what will win us games and hopefully win us promotion.

On the strength of the bench...

It fills you with confidence knowing people can come on at any time of the game. We have such strong players and it definitely fills you with confidence.

On the away support of over 3,000...

Our support is fantastic, it's unbelievable. The noise they make spurs you on and motivates you to win games. It will be massive for us in the promotion battle and hopefully we'll get that this season.

On Shrewsbury Town at Pride Park next week...

We've got to build momentum, it's massive when you are going for promotion. Ultimately this part of the season is about winning, so we've just got to do anything and everything we can to do so.