Paul Warne was quick to express his delight at what proved to be ‘a great day’ for Craig Forsyth after seeing Derby County defeat Stoke City 3-0 at Pride Park Stadium in his Testimonial Game.
The long-serving defender celebrated ten years with the club in the pre-season friendly against the Sky Bet Championship side before a crowd of just over 9,000 supporters.
Derby cruised to victory thanks to first half goals from Curtis Nelson, James Collins and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Warne was pleased with several aspects of his side’s performance.
Warne spoke to RamsTV after the final whistle to review the 90 minutes and pay tribute to Forsyth.
On Craig Forsyth's day…
It was a great day and we were all here for Fozzy; he has given ten years of his life to this club and today was about the fans thanking him and also him showing his appreciation the other way. I am really pleased for him. He had a speech from me before and after the game; he’s been getting way too many compliments for my liking! It was a fitting game for him and his friends came on in the second half and they were all ledge. Everyone can leave here today feeling happy and I am really proud to be part of this football club. The more you work here the more it engrains into your soul and today was one of those days where it felt nice to be part of it - and also Fozzy’s special day. He does everything to represent the club in the best way and I am proud to manage him because he’s a brilliant human being. He was faultless all game in the back three and they all played their part to get the clean sheet and a win. I know it’s a pre-season friendly and we have bigger things ahead, but you need to live in the moment you’re in and today was a special day.
On the side’s three goals…
The goals were all great and exciting. A set-piece goal is a massive tick for the teacher! In the first ten minutes we couldn’t get in their half and scoring from a set-play is an example of how important they can be to get you a lead or even a win when you may not deserve it. The second goal is my favourite; a cross into the box and a number nine getting on the end of it in the middle of the goal. Collo knows it is a massive responsibility to get in the areas to be on the end of crosses. The third goal was great too; Birdy and Nat linked up well and he made it look easy to be honest. All in all, I am really pleased with the performance and also that fact we’ve come through with no injuries.
On seeing good things from his players in pre-season…
We spoke a lot in Spain about what we want from the team this season and also what motivates the lads. At times though, talk is cheap and you need to prove how much it means. I think the performances from a number of players was really encouraging but we know there’s still plenty more work to get through.