Craig Bryson insists Derby County will find consistency at their best following a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Bolton.
For the third consecutive game, Derby found themselves a goal behind early on but unlike the previous matches against Brentford and Manchester United, the Rams weren’t able to find the comeback.
With the cushion of a lead, the Trotters were satisfied to sit back and defend, which they did for the remainder to only allow one Derby shot to be on target.
Despite giving credit to Bolton’s defending, Bryson said Derby needed to be better and that there is the quality in the team that should have been able to break the Trotters down.
“I think ‘frustrating’ is the right word to sum the game up for us,” the midfielder told RamsTV following the game.
“I think the way we played, we had so much of the ball, I just don’t think we broke them down in the final third and we were a bit sloppy at times. Even with all the possession in the first-half, we didn’t really make the right decisions in the final third, or it got deflected, or they cleared it.
“I think it was just one of those days, but we need to stop conceding the first goal. When you look at Millwall, Brentford, even Man United, Rotherham, we conceded the first goal.
Bryson added: “It’s difficult enough to win games in the Championship, let alone if you give them a lift. When they went ahead today, they could just defend even deeper and it made them even harder to break down.
“We need to address that area and hopefully the results will come. We should be building momentum, not having to bounce back every time after a good victory.”
The Rams have shown over and over again already this season the quality they have within the team, their depth and their ability to shut teams down. They have brought excitement with the recent dominating performances over Blackburn Rovers, Brentford and Manchester United.
However, Bryson who has been central to the Rams’ success, is urging the team to find that level in every game and believes they will.
That can begin on Wednesday night when they return to Pride Park Stadium to face Norwich City.
“That’s the frustrating thing, when we are at our best, when we are moving the ball and have the high energy then teams find it difficult to live with us. It’s just frustrating for us that we can’t find that consistency at the minute, but I’m sure it will come.”
He added: “That’s the beauty of the Championship and we are in front of our own fans on Wednesday. We will dust ourselves down, we will get back on it and see how it goes. We need to bounce back again.”