3/1 To Win
Liam Rosenior is confident Derby County’s players can offer a reaction to Saturday’s disappointing defeat against Rotherham United when they take on AFC Bournemouth at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday evening (6pm kick-off).
Derby fell to a 1-0 loss against the Millers in what was Wayne Rooney’s first game as the club’s permanent manager following his appointment 24 hours beforehand.
The Millers scored the only goal of the game with four minutes remaining to condemn Derby to defeat in their first home fixture of 2021 and miss the chance to move out of the Sky Bet Championship’s bottom three.
Rooney spoke of his disappointment in terms of both the result and performance after the final whistle and admitted the Rams got what they deserved over the course of the 90 minutes.
Rosenior, who was confirmed as Rooney’s assistant upon his appointment last Friday, believes the Rams’ players are determined to bounce back and show an immediate reaction when they welcome Bournemouth to town.
The Cherries, relegated from the Premier League last season, are pushing for an instant return to the top-flight - but Rosenior knows Derby are more than capable of competing against the very best sides in the division.
Derby have already beaten leaders Norwich City and second-placed Swansea City this term, while they also picked up a point on the South Coast in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth earlier in the campaign.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of Tuesday’s game Rosenior said: “Bournemouth are a very good side and have Premier League players and Premier League quality but we have shown, especially in the game against Swansea recently, that when we are organised and play with intensity and a bit of belief, we can beat any team in this league.
“Sometimes when you have a poor performance, like we had on Saturday against Rotherham, it actually comes at the right time to shock everyone back to what we need to get back to.
“That is the message we have given to the players on the training ground to remind them of why we have been in a good period of form of late and why, if you come off that level, you can be found out by any team in this league.
“We want to see a reaction and we believe in the players. I believe we have got a really good set of characters who want to set the record straight and put it right.
“You can never guarantee a result, but you can guarantee a performance and I am sure the performance will be a lot better than it was on Saturday when we play Bournemouth.”
Looking back on the defeat to Rotherham, Rosenior said: “It just wasn’t us. I think that was the most disappointing aspect of the afternoon. We have prided ourselves in our quality in possession, organisation and especially our intensity and our energy. For one reason or another, it wasn’t there.
“Fortunately for us we have got another game coming quickly and we want to see our identity back again where we look like an energetic, hard-working and hungry team.”
