Derby County Head Coach Paul Warne believes new Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones will have his team set up to make it 'really difficult' for his side when they go head-to-head at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday evening (7:45pm kick-off).
The Addicks sit just one place above the Sky Bet League One drop zone going into the midweek clash under the floodlights and Warne knows how eager they will be to pick up three points after recently picking up impressive draws against leaders Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers in their last two outings.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the match, the Head Coach reflected on Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Barnsley and previewed the Tuesday night clash under the floodlights.
On reflection from the Barnsley defeat...
I was pretty pleased with my summary after the game, having watched the 90 minutes back. I thought we were a little bit too safe in the first half. We went sideways and backwards a little bit, but they did press us really well because they are a young and energetic side. If you watch their first goal, it comes from us going backwards. I wasn't over the moon about the psychology of our play in the first half although we did create a couple of good chances. In the second half we had a bit more impotence about us and played a lot better. Apart from one shot from outside of the box and the corner which they scored from, they didn't get near our goal. That was the most disappointing thing. A draw was probably a fair result but sometimes you get games like that.
On teams dropping points around the Rams on Saturday...
Although we intend to win every game, we aren't going to win every time we step onto the pitch, so it is important we don't get too down about things or too high about good moments either. There are a lot of ifs in football so if you do go up, you thoroughly deserve it.
On two home games this week against Charlton and Port Vale...
Every team poses different questions and different threats but, at this time of the year, unless you play a side in 12th spot that have already got their passports out, teams all have a reason to get points. Charlton and Port Vale are both fighting for their League One status. What I do know is both managers will have their teams set up to make it really difficult. If we are to pick up points, we'll have to be at our very best. Looking at Charlton, they haven't won in their last seven or eight. However, they've drawn a lot of them and if you look at their opposition, it puts it into context a bit. They drew at home to Portsmouth on Saturday, drew with Bolton the game before that and probably should have won. They will come here wanting to pick up all three points.
On Charlton under Nathan Jones...
I didn't think they were horrific before him, really. If you look at their playing staff, their squad is really good; they are just underachieving for whatever reason. Nathan Jones is an experienced manager, but their actual form isn't a lot different. They spent some proper money in January and I do know they will turn a corner, just hopefully not before Wednesday!
On wanting the team to take more risks...
We set up to try and win every game. I try and put that across to the lads. Sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't. There are certain tactical nuances that we always try to refresh and reset. In the last couple of games, we've tried to change the way our set-pieces look and we did look a bit more of a threat with them at the weekend. If you do them for so many weeks then they tire a bit, so you have to tweak those. There wasn't a great deal wrong with our performance on Saturday. We've picked up 10 points in our last five games. which I'm happy with, so we just need to keep that going. Sometimes you just need a little tweak that can have a big impact.
On the injury situation...
Martyn Waghorn and Corey Blackett-Taylor didn't travel at the weekend but they are ready to go now. I have a really strong team to pick from and I should have really good options on the bench, if needs be. The fans were amazing with the team on Saturday and the lads are determined to put it right for those that supported them.