3/1 To Win
Derby County centre-back Matt Clarke gave his thoughts after his first appearance since returning to the club earlier this week ended in a 1-0 defeat against Sheffield United on Saturday.
The score was tied at 0-0 going into half-time in a tight-knit game, but Ben Brereton Diaz broke the deadlock and put the Blades in front in the second half.
Headed chances from Kenzo Goudmijn and Clarke in the second period flashed just over the crossbar and the visitors took away maximum points.
Clarke joined Derby on a permanent deal until the end of the 2024/25 season from Middlesbrough on Tuesday and went straight into the starting line-up to make his debut - his third for the club - after having previously made 81 appearances over the course of two loan spells in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns.
He spoke to RamsTV after the match to assess the performance.
On defeat to Sheffield United…
I thought there wasn't much in the game for most of it, and we restricted them for large periods. As you can see, the goal when we did concede was frustrating and a really bad time. We didn't quite have the key to unlock them at the other end. Maybe the ball didn't quite fall for us. I had a chance, which I should score, and it ended up being a frustrating and disappointing day. It was there for me to attack, but I just didn't put it in. When you're at a time like this, when you get that chance, you've got to take it and I didn't today, which will stick with me tonight for sure.
On settling back into the Derby County squad in familiar surroundings…
I hadn't played for a few weeks, so there's that little bit of: 'Am I up to speed? Am I going to be alright?' I felt once I settled in, it was just another game. I was happy as I suppose I can be with the nature of the result. There are things we can build on, for sure.
On what separates teams in the Championship…
There's still such a long way to go and it can still change quickly. When you're in these moments, it feels like you're never going to get out of them, but you can. One result can soon become two or three and you build a bit of momentum and suddenly goals come from everywhere and teams miss chances, and the ball just keeps falling for you. It's just that first one. We've got to find a way to grind out an ugly one if it needs to be ugly or just find a way to stop this run and get the three points and something to build on.
There's still loads of belief and everyone's on the same page and pushing the same direction. I think training is really good and upbeat and the messages we get from the gaffer are really upbeat. Everything's upbeat as it can be, but obviously we know where we're at and we need to get out of this one way or another.
