Rams' Head Coach praises his side's impetus as they recover from two goals down to secure passage to Quarter Finals
- Head Coach says Derby got back to normal selves.
- Rams secure place in Capital One Cup Quarter finals
- Steve McClaren delighted to see Paul Coutts return
Steve McClaren believes Derby County’s risk taking paid off as he watched his side recover from two goals down to record a 5-2 win over Fulham in the Capital One Cup Fourth Round.
The Rams were punished for two errors in the first half as Moussa Dembélé scored twice to give the home side the lead, before Chris Martin, crucially, converted a spot kick on the brink of half time.
The goal changed the game as Derby ran riot in the second half to score four more goals in an 18-minute spell to clinch their place in the last eight of the competition.
McClaren, the Rams’ Head Coach, says his side improved in every sense of the word from their first half display and hailed his players for the ‘impetus’ they displayed to get back into the contest.
Speaking to Rams Player, he said: “That’s the way we play and it’s no risk. We have to deal with these things and deal with the ball, we didn’t on one or two occasions and we got punished.
“We had a mountain to climb, but, fortunately, we got a lifeline just before half time.
“The players deserve a lot of credit for the impetus they showed in the second half to go and turn it around.
“We didn’t want to wait the week for the Brentford game and change the team too much.
“We had to in certain areas, which we did, people came in and did their job and that was more like us.
“We had more tempo, we was on the front foot, more aggressive and we played positive football.
“We like to keep the ball and our main strength is when we get the ball and we play the ball forward.
“We took risks, and when we do that, teams struggle to live with us.
“Dawks showed what he is capable of. He is a delicate player and hes been injured and we miss him.
“He keeps the ball for us, but in the first half he was keeping it too much and was being too negative.
“In the second half, he was more devastating, more positive and got rewarded with his goals.”
 Whilst scoring five goals proved to be a highlight of a enthralling night at Craven Cottage, the return of Paul Coutts to first team action was also a significant moment in the game.
The Scottish midfielder has been out of action for more than a year with two separate injuries, but played 20 minutes in his first appearance under the management of McClaren.
It was a moment that McClaren, himself, was delighted with.
“We have always wanted to see Couttsy play. I have seen him in training, but he got some minutes and did well, did the job, was disciplined, kept the ball and it was good to see him back.”
Now in the last eight of the competition, the draw for the Quarter Finals of the competition will take place on Wednesday evening.
McClaren admits that it would be nice to secure a big draw, but insists that the cup has provided his team with much more than just a cup run.
“A big draw would be nice, but we have used this cup as another game to give players vital minutes.
“It has also been good to gain momentum and tonight was one of them. We wanted a reaction after Saturday and we got that.”