Head Coach Paul Warne described himself as ‘proud’ of his Derby County side as they claimed all three points in a tight and tense 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers.
Substitute Kane Wilson scored the only goal of the game with just over ten minutes remaining at Pride Park Stadium as Derby retained second spot in Sky Bet League One.
A crowd of over 32,000, the Rams’ biggest attendance since December 2016, turned out to see Derby move four points clear of Bolton, who had the better chances but found goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith in excellent form, with seven matches left to play.
Derby’s fourth win a row owed much to the determination and desire of the squad to keep their third clean sheet in four matches and Warne spoke to RamsTV after the final whistle to review the clash with the Trotters.
On the win…
I said in the media this week that neither team wanted to lose, and it was a tight game in the end. There wasn’t a lot in it and Joe Wildsmith made two good saves to keep it at 0-0. I didn’t think we had enough impetus, and we had a few injury issues as well. To win is great. I said to the lads beforehand it was important to bend and not break when we were under pressure. We knew we’d have to defend the box well and the back three, especially, did it so perfectly. I am proud of the fact that, in tight games like this, a set-piece goal can win it and we’ve done that today. It was great to have Kane Wilson scoring the goal; he had a really good impact when he came on, like the rest of the lads. We could play better, but I am not bothered about that. The lads worked so hard for each other to get the win against a good team and the playing are buzzing for each other.
On the atmosphere with over 32,000 in attendance…
It felt like a proper atmosphere and a proper ground. I just wanted the lads to give me their job lot and regardless of the result, I’d be proud of them. Today was a case of two very good sides going head-to-head, with two great sets of supporters getting behind their teams. A 0-0 draw would not have befitted the tension of the game.
On the four changes he made by the start of the second half…
A few of the four changes we made by the start of the second half were enforced, some weren’t. Dwight Gayle felt his hamstring, which is not a good sign. We changed our shape as we struggled to get a grip on things and after that, we looked OK. Tom Barkhuizen tightened up with his calf, as did Joe Ward. We’ll assess the lads on Monday and see where we are at.
On Craig Forsyth’s display on his comeback…
Fozzy was really good and he knows what it is like to play in front of full houses here. He’s been out for over two months, but came back in and was excellent. He doesn’t get stressed about anything and he was the perfect fit to put in the side.
On getting the focus back on what lies ahead…
I will enjoy the next day or so and then we’ll go again on Monday morning. All our focus will be on Northampton, and it will be nice to not have a midweek fixture. It is tough playing three games in a week, especially with an older squad. We will have a week of feeling good about ourselves, building up the training minutes for a few of the lads and then go again.