Lampard: "It Was A Joy To Watch"

Frank Lampard was full of praise for his Derby County players after they hit Rotherham United for six with a ruthless display.

Derby ran out 6-1 winners over the Millers as they returned to action following the final international break of the season in impressive fashion.

Striker Martyn Waghorn helped himself to his first-ever hat-trick in English football, while Bradley Johnson, Mason Mount and Duane Holmes were also on target at Pride Park Stadium.

Lampard was thrilled with the performance of his side as they extended their unbeaten run to four matches to remain firmly in the play-off race.

Speaking to RamsTV following the game, Lampard said: “It was a fantastic performance and the sort of football and play that we work towards.

“We got ourselves an early goal but that came as a result of the way we played early on. We started well, created chances and were on the front foot and the goal came naturally.

“It was just a joy for us all to watch to be honest with you. We could have scored more goals to be honest and I am delighted.

“We can now say that’s the template for us and we must continue to that standard for the rest of the season.”

He added: “It’s a win and now we have eight games to play. It’s tight up at the top with other teams winning so we just need to focus on Brentford next weekend which is a massive game for us.

“It’s nice to have another full week ahead of that match so we can have another good week of training and get ourselves fully prepared.”

Lampard felt going into the match that his squad was in good shape and he was in confident mood when speaking to the media on Friday in the lead-up to the game.

The returns of several players from spells in the treatment room provided a welcome boost.

Mason Mount made an immediate return to the starting line-up after two months out with a hamstring injury and, as well as getting on the scoresheet, he was at the heart of Derby’s attacking play all afternoon.

He said: “We needed to deliver and I had a feeling going into the game.

“The lads worked really hard in training this week and there was a freshness about them.

“It helped we had the likes of Mason Mount, Mason Bennett, Tom Lawrence and Craig Bryson back and on top of that the spirit is good in the group.

“Injuries have obviously had an impact at crucial times but if you take key players out of any side you’re always going to suffer.

“On the positive side we have everyone pretty much back and we saw the quality Mason Mount possesses in his performance.”

Lampard reserved praise for hat-trick hero Waghorn after the game as the frontman took his goals tally to the season to 11 in all competitions.

The 29-year-old was without a goal in his previous seven matches and returned to goalscoring form in some style.

He said: “I’m delighted for Waggy to get a hat-trick and you know what you’ll get from him every week.

“He gives us quality, on top of his work-rate, and even when things don’t go for him, like in recent games, he gives his all for this club.

“Waggy did very well today and he took both his penalties well. I was wondering if we were ever going to get a penalty again after having just one all season, so it was quite ironic we got two today.”