3/1 To Win
Head Coach Paul Warne says he asked his team to ‘play with emotion’ as Derby County claimed their ninth consecutive league victory at Pride Park Stadium, and tenth in all competitions, with a 1-0 success over Cardiff City.
Derby came into the game on a high after a 3-0 home win against Bristol City before the international break and they carried on where they left off as midfielder Kenzo Goudmijn netted his second goal in two matches to secure the win over the Bluebirds in the Sky Bet Championship at Pride Park Stadium.
Warne spoke with RamsTV after the victory to discuss wanting his team to play on the edge to win matches.
On the Derby’s ninth win in a row in the league at Pride Park Stadium…
I’m exhausted, like everybody else in the stadium. I thought we played really well for 75 minutes and then Cardiff threw everything at us, and we were tired at the end. We went to a back five and, whenever called upon, Jacob Zetterström helped us out, though don't think they had many shots on target.
Their best chance possibly was Eiran Cashin’s header in the first half from the corner. Apart from that, I thought the lads were great. I asked them to play with emotion today. Unfortunately, my uncle isn't well, so my mum was coming but didn't in the end and I did tell the lads that. It was about Sol Bamba today. I love him as a human being. He was a great footballer, a really positive guy and I knew that that dressing room would use that.
We asked the lads to play on the edge, and they gassed out. There are some really tired bodies in the dressing room. Winning football matches at any level is hard; you have to work harder than the opposition and put your bodies on the line. A few of the players emulated that today. Jerry Yates and Kayden Jackson were excellent, and the back line was good, too. It's good to see Kenzo get another goal, and I’m really pleased for him.
On Kenzo Goudmijn adjusting to life in the Championship…
It has been a big adjustment for him, but he's a learner. He's been brought up in football. His dad's a football guy. Training with the group daily and learning the pace of training and how physical it would be compared to the Netherlands is something you learn by osmosis sometimes.
I showed the three midfielders clips last week where they've done some really good stuff, but some stuff I wasn't so pleased with. We had a bit more bite in the middle of the park today. That was really pleasing, and for Kenzo to get two goals is great.
I showed him an old Match of the Day goals highlight reel (from December 2006) where midfielders scored goals; it was one of the best ever! I’m begging our midfielders to shoot. They've got to add goals and attempts to their game because they can't just rely on the front three. In fairness, they all had a little pot in shot first half; I was like a proud father.
For Kenzo to score another goal, you've got to get in the box. That's the thing as a midfielder. You can miss chances but you've got to give yourself the opportunity to score - and he did that today.
On Ebou Adams after his late miss and the team spirit at the end of the game…
One of our strengths is that we try and build a culture where everyone behind the scenes, staff and players are all trying to pull together for the team. Ebou is one of them - he's a sacrificer. I think he's the only player we have who would have been brave enough to go for the header and chase after the ball. It would have been fitting if he had scored today with that performance. He was excellent.
