‘We Weren’t Good Enough By Any Stretch Of The Imagination’

Curtis Davies admitted Derby County ‘weren’t good by any stretch of the imagination’ against Wolves and has demanded an immediate response when they return to action on Tuesday night.

A goal in each half – from Barry Douglas and Ivan Cavaleiro – saw the Rams fall to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday in their first home match of the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season.

Whilst Gary Rowett’s side saw more of the possession, they did not do enough with it in the final third and rarely threatened to breach John Ruddy’s goal.

Davies, the summer signing from Hull City, also felt that, from an attacking point of view, the Rams need to take a lead out of Wolves’ book

He told RamsTV: “We weren’t good enough, by any stretch of imagination. They controlled the game without doing anything to be honest.

“We had a lot of possession without really testing their ‘keeper, we didn’t really get balls into the box, whereas with them, whenever they got it, they got it wide and got it into the box to call us into action.

“The goals we conceded, though, came from breakaways.

“What’s frustrating is that we were playing some half-decent football in front of them, but then all of a sudden, we give the ball away and that’s what happens.

“It’s not good enough and we need to be much better on Tuesday if we are to get ourselves our first win.”

Davies also felt that the opening goal was crucial.

With nothing separating the two teams over a cagey first half, Douglas’ first-time finish gave the visitors something to hold on.

“If you get a lead then it becomes a different game,” Davies added.

“We knew that Wolves were a counter-attacking team, they get in behind with their 3-5-2 formation, so we found it very hard to break them down.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to break them down and when we did lose the ball, we weren’t quick enough to get back in and that is something that we definitely need to work on because in this league, you can’t fault hard work.

“You need to make sure that you are working hard all the time because teams that want to work hard can get a result based on that.”

The nature of the Championship means that Rowett’s men have a swift opportunity to bounce back.

Derby return to action next Tuesday when they host Alex Neil’s Preston North End at Pride Park Stadium, kick-off: 7:45pm.

Davies has insisted that the Rams will ‘need to be a lot better’ when they take on the Lilywhityes.

Looking ahead, he said: “In this league, the games come around quick and you have got an instant turnaround where you are able to try and do it and get a win.

“We need to be a lot better, we need to be more positive and we need to keep a clean sheet.

“We need to be responsible as defenders to keep a clean sheet because that’s how we win games.”