Wayne Rooney felt Derby County’s 4-0 thrashing of Stoke City at Pride Park Stadium on Friday night was the perfect response to their disappointing midweek loss at Luton Town.
Derby were unbeaten in seven games in all competitions prior to their trip to Kenilworth Road and, despite dominating for long spells, they were beaten 3-2.
Manager Phillip Cocu called for a reaction and his players delivered with an emphatic victory against the in-form Potters.
Rooney was joined on the scoresheet by Martyn Waghorn, Chris Martin and Jayden Bogle as they recorded a fourth successive home win.
“Tonight was about bouncing back from the last game because we played well but let ourselves down with the result in the end,” Rooney told Sky Sports after the game.
“This was a great performance and the third goal came at a time when Stoke were putting us under a bit of pressure, so it was important for us.
“It’s a great victory and now we’ve got a big game on Tuesday now in the FA Cup (against Northampton Town in the FA Cup Fourth Round replay at Pride Park).
Rooney scored Derby’s third goal against the Potters in the second half with a sublime free-kick from the edge of the penalty area.
The 34-year-old Rams skipper delicately lifted the ball over the Stoke wall and beyond the reach of Jack Butland.
It was Rooney’s second goal in as many games and he admitted: “It went exactly where I wanted.
“You don’t need a lot of pace on those free-kicks, it was more about accuracy and I managed to get that.”
Rooney has now played seven games for Derby since officially joining as a player in January and scored twice.
