POST-MATCH INTERVIEW: ‘We can't get too down’ - Mendez-Laing

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing says Derby County’s players ‘can't get too down’ and must take away the positives after their first Sky Bet Championship game since May 2022 ended in defeat on Friday night.

The Rams were beaten by Blackburn Rovers after a second half flourish from the hosts saw them run out 4-2 winners at Ewood Park.

Mendez-Laing spoke to RamsTV after the game to discuss the need to be sharper in attacking areas and how the squad to learn and move on from defeat.

On the result not reflecting the performance…

I don't think the scoreline reflects the game. We've just had a long chat in the dressing room. I think we created a number of chances.

We probably need to be sharper around the box, but they sloppy goals to give away from our end. I think when we are going forward in numbers, we need to kind of be assured. Despite the defeat, there's a lot of positives to take from the game.

On the players holding their heads high despite the result…

It's the first game, so we can't get too down about it. We can go away from here with a lot to learn from. We had large periods of possession and some great chances, so it's very frustrating. We'll look over the game, debrief it together and see what was going wrong.

On the 3,700 strong away support…

There was no doubt that our supporters would come out in numbers and credit to them. Like last season, it was amazing again today - they stuck with us to the end and the support is great. We do feel it. I can't wait to be back at home next week. The away following here, like I just said, is amazing. To have a full house at Pride Park next Saturday, everyone's excited already.