First Team Coach Matt Hamshaw admitted Derby County needed to take more risks but earned an ‘important point’ in their 0-0 draw against Oxford United on Tuesday night.
A gritty performance and a goalless draw under the floodlights against the U’s at Pride Park Stadium saw Derby pick up their second point in as many games in the Championship, following the 1-1 draw at Norwich City on Saturday.
He spoke to RamsTV after the game to assess the performance.
On the draw being a fair result…
Probably not [feeling like it should have been a win], if I'm going to be brutally honest. I thought we probably weren't at the races as much as we wanted to be. We didn't move the ball anywhere near quick enough. We were trying to zip things through and I feel the players didn't take enough risks on the ball. Then it gets a little bit edgy, and I feel the players felt that a little bit. However, they have to be better than that. I've just thanked them for their efforts. I just believe that moving forward, we have to play much better than that.
On the killer edge coming with confidence…
I thought there were a lot of positives on Saturday. I thought we played some good football on Saturday and tonight. There were one or two patches where we did alright, but I never thought we sustained anything. I know I sound downbeat, but I'm just frustrated with performance.
On earning a clean sheet…
That's a positive. I thought neither team looked a threat, if I'm going to be honest. I thought both teams probably lacked that little bit of energy and efficiency to play forward quicker. Then we went away from some of the things that we've been working on. Which is disappointing, but I'll say when it comes down to the end of the season that could be an important point. That's the positive coming out of it but the negative is we've got to be better than that.
On Sondre Langas making his home debut…
He's top-drawer. I put it on record Saturday and I'll say it again tonight. He's going to be a big player for this football club moving forward, and players like that should be playing at this football club. You saw his tenacity. He's a great character but, more importantly, he's a top player.
On a quick turnaround as the Rams face QPR away from home on Friday…
This is the league we are in and it's another opportunity. We had to freshen it up in a couple of areas because of certain things tonight - and that is what it is. We have to go again we'll recharge, and we'll see what happens moving forward.
