Scott Malone believes a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town provided a case of points dropped for Derby County in the Sky Bet Championship - but is ready to quickly address a 'frustrating' night.
The Rams came up against an Ipswich side fighting for their survival in the league and the Tractor Boys showed plenty of fight in front of their own fans.
Derby grabbed the lead after just two minutes through Tom Lawrence before Jon Nolan found the equaliser for the hosts early in the second half.
A draw means the Rams remain outside the play-off places which Malone admitted was disappointing for the side.
“It was very frustrating, we are aiming high and we think it is two points dropped,” the left-back told RamsTV following the game.
“On other weeks and maybe in other circumstances you could say it is a point away from home against a team that is scrapping for its life to stay in the league, but for where we want to be I think it is two points dropped.”
He added: “They are fighting to stay up and it is difficult to come to these types of places.
“We knew what we were coming up against, they go quite direct and leave men up the pitch with Collin Quaner up-top, I played with him last year at Huddersfield and we knew what he was about. He is fast and physical.”
After bursting out of the blocks to take the lead early on, Malone felt that the Rams struggled to settle in to the game and failed to execute the high-possession, composed football that he believes the team can play.
However, with the next game coming in just three days and their attention switching to the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round tie at Brighton & Hove Albion, the 27-year-old is confident the Rams can quickly learn from their trip to Portman Road.
“We scored in the first two minutes and that should have settled us down, but it didn’t,” the defender said. “I thought we looked quite nervous on the ball, we didn’t get the rhythm going.
“We pride ourselves on keeping the ball and being a possession-based team, but we just didn’t pass it well enough tonight.
“We will dust ourselves down and address it over the next couple of days. We have got a break from the league of Saturday in the FA Cup and it is a great chance to get to Wembley being two games away.
“The games are coming thick and fast, so we can’t dwell on it too much. We will address it, see what has gone wrong and we will go again.”
After defeating Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup Fourth Round, Derby will conclude a busy week with a trip to face Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday - with a quarter-final appearance on the line.
Malone said: “We have had a couple of Premier League scalps already this season and we pushed Chelsea close in the Carabao Cup too, so we are looking forward to that one.
“It is another chance to play in a Premier League stadium and I think this year it is one of the most open FA Cups with some big teams already out."