Liam Rosenior was pleased to see several members of Derby County’s squad get significant match minutes under their belts in the side’s final pre-season friendly ahead of the 2022/23 League One season.
A much-changed Derby side went down 2-1 at National League - North side Alfreton Town on Tuesday night to round off their games programme ahead of the new campaign.
Fraser Preston and Dayle Southwell scored for the hosts, with both goals coming early in each half, while trialist Sean Robertson responded for the Rams just after the hour mark with a stunning effort.
Rosenior was naturally disappointed to lose the game - as well as the mistakes that led to the home side’s two goals - but looking at the bigger picture he believes getting minutes into the legs and learning from those errors will put the Rams in a better place moving forward.
Derby’s Interim Manager spoke to RamsTV after the final whistle at the Impact Arena to assess the 90 minutes and begin the build-up to Saturday’s season-opener against Oxford United at Pride Park Stadium (3pm kick-off).
On The Game…
It was another good workout. The result wasn’t perfect, but in terms of the exercise it was what we needed. Players needed minutes and you could see that. We had a few concentration errors and mistakes, but that is what happens in pre-season. I’d rather we play this game and it happens now, rather than in matches that really do matter. This will be a learning curve for the young players and a real experience which will stand them, and us as a team, in good stead. I’ve told the players, when you get a chance at first team level no matter where it is, you have to take it and each time you play must be a learning process. Credit to Alfreton, they took the chances that we gifted to them. I have to say, what really pleased me tonight was the fans. They were brilliant and this place was bouncing. If we still togetherness with that spirit that we have, we can have a really good season.
On Alfreton…
I wanted this game to be played and I’m really glad we did it. I want to thank Alfreton for hosting us tonight. I hope they’ve made a lot of money of it, which will be important to them. I am sure that this game, when we face sides like this in terms of their style of play this season, we will know how to deal with it. It’s one thing coaching it, but it is another experiencing it first-hand.
Spreading The Minutes…
It was important for a number of players to get minutes, as I said earlier. We want to win on Saturday against Oxford and it was important for some of these players to play tonight in case they come off the bench, or even start, at the weekend. In terms of a safety aspect, if they don’t get enough minutes to be prepared for the season then I am not doing my job properly. Quite a few of the lads got 90 minutes and stuck at it. We are disappointed to lose, but it is about making sure we don’t make the mistakes when the season starts.
Pre-Season Being Over And Full Focus On League One…
I can’t wait for Saturday and for the fans to be at Pride Park again. I know tickets are selling well and we’ll have a great atmosphere. I can’t thank the fans enough for the support they’ve given me and the players. We are in a really good place to repay that faith and it is my job to make sure we go out in every game and give everything for them, as well as enjoying watching us play.
