Derby County manager Paul Warne had claimed that his side were ‘woeful’ at one thing in the win over Bristol Rovers.
The Rams claimed a 2-1 victory on Saturday afternoon, with an own goal from Jack Hunt giving Derby the lead midway through the second half.
Former Derby striker Chris Martin then levelled for the away side in the 87th minute, who looked to have stolen a point for the Gas in the dying minutes.
But in-form winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing stepped up to score just two minutes later to give the Rams all three points, with the result pushing them into the play-off places.
Derby boss makes ‘woeful’ comment
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph following the game, Warne said that the Rams were ‘woeful’ at playing the ball into the final third in the first half.
“When you win late on it’s easy to say ooh it’s character, but when I went back into the dressing room I said to the lads what do you think I am going to say?
“They said ‘you’ll say ooh we would not have done that last year’. I wouldn’t go that far. I just thought we played sporadically quite good in the first half but our final third entries were woeful.
“We changed the shape at half-time and we started the second half quite well. I thought we had enough chances to win, but we didn’t take them. If you’ve only got one goal then you are susceptible to an equaliser. It felt like a bit Portsmouthy.
“But to get a late winner is great. For everyone who stayed with the team I appreciate it. It felt like when you score that late on, it felt like everybody could enjoy their day so I am really pleased.”
Warne needs Derby to keep momentum
Whilst Derby started slow, they managed to get the result in the end.
Results are now starting to pick up in the league after some poor results last month, with Derby now sitting in the top six.
Warne will be hoping they can continue his momentum into the new year so they can mount a promotion bid.
Mendez-Laing could be the man to lead them there, with it being a priority for Warne to keep him fit. He was described as ‘unstoppable’ on Saturday.