Wayne Rooney admitted he was delighted to see Derby County grab a dramatic 2-1 victory at Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night - but admitted his side can play much better.
Derby thought they were going to be forced to settle for a share of the spoils and a 1-1 draw against Gareth Ainsworth’s side despite taking a first-half lead.
Uche Ikpeazu’s 16th minute own goal gave Derby the advantage at Adams Park as he turned Martyn Waghorn’s corner into the Chairboys’ net at the near post.
The Wycombe frontman, however, equalised just after half-time as he kept his cool from the penalty spot after Jason Knight had fouled Josh Knight inside the box.
With the game petering out into a draw, Derby struck deep into added time as defender Andre Wisdom marked his 200th career start with a low finish after Waghorn’s free-kick had hit the post.
The result means the Rams have recorded five wins from their last six matches to move further away from the Sky Bet Championship’s bottom three.
Rooney was not overly impressed with his side’s overall display but was naturally pleased that they found a way to pick up all three points.
Speaking to RamsTV after the final whistle, Rooney said: “I just felt we didn’t have to be in that position (chasing a last-minute winner).
“We didn’t play how I expected us to play, how I wanted us to play and in terms of performance I am very disappointed, upset and angry at the performance. But I am delighted with the three points.
“I would have been delighted to walk away with a point at one point. I said with ten minutes to go to the coaches on the bench that to get a point would have been a great result for us because the performance wasn’t good.
“To snatch it at the end, I am delighted to get the three points. We have to set ourselves higher standards and expect more from ourselves.
“This was a great opportunity to get three points and a bit of distance from the bottom of the league. Although we have done that, I am delighted with that, we have to expect more from each other.”
He added: “I wanted to move the ball a lot quicker, players to move off the ball a lot quicker than they did and I felt there we spaces for us there to play and have an impact on the game that way.
“We just didn’t do that. We have to be brave on the ball and have more courage to take it in tight areas and we didn’t do that, so it’s frustrating. It was disappointing to watch, but on the other hand I am delighted with the win.”
Derby had to substitute defender Matt Clarke in the first half after he picked up a knock and he was replaced by on-loan Rangers centre-back George Edmundson for his Rams bow after his arrival earlier this month.
Rooney said: “I hope Matt will be fit for Friday when we play Watford.
“He took a knock and he just wasn’t moving right. We had to take him off and hopefully – it is too early to say – but he will be alright for Friday.”
Derby are back in Championship action on Friday night when they travel down the M1 to face Watford at Vicarage Road (7:45pm kick-off).
