Derby 4-0 Bristol City: Paul Clement and Steve Cotterill reaction
Wednesday 16 December 2015 10:15, UK
Derby head coach Paul Clement revealed how a 'mind game' helped Tom Ince through his goal drought which ended with the hat-trick that sent Bristol City crashing to a 4-0 defeat at the iPro Stadium.
Ince had not scored since early October but Clement kept up his morale by chatting regularly with the former England Under-21 international.
It paid off as Ince turned a tight game on its head with a superb solo goal in the 42nd minute when he skipped away from three defenders before driving a low shot past former Derby goalkeeper Frank Fielding.
Ince struck again in the 63rd minute after City gave the ball away cheaply and Fielding failed to stop a deflected shot and he completed his first senior treble in the 71st minute from Darren Bent's pass.
Johnny Russell headed a fourth six minutes later but the night belonged to Ince and Clement was delighted to see him back on the score-sheet.
"I'm very pleased for him, he's been a little bit inconsistent by his standards so far this season so it was a very good performance from him and will be brilliant for his confidence," Clement said.
"His first finish was excellent, moving the ball between both feet, and he was instrumental in the second half for us pushing forward and finishing off the game.
"I'm a coach who speaks regularly with the players one to one, whether that's in my office or out on the training field and Tom is no different in that respect.
"What we did speak about was being mentally strong and during good times not getting too excited and thinking you're the best player in the world. When things are not going so well, you don't listen too much to the criticism because things can change really quickly and he's come through it brilliantly.
"He has a lot of quality, a good left foot, he moves well with the ball, he's a graceful player and we saw all of that in this game."
The victory was Derby's biggest of the season and Clement added: "We finished the job very well in the second half and overall I'm very satisfied with the evening's work. "
Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill admitted it had a been a tough night for his team.
"We didn't pass the ball like we normally do," he said. "We weren't good enough to take them on and we didn't show enough courage to pass the ball.
"In the first half I thought we kept them at arms' length but then there was some individual brilliance from Ince for the first goal.
"In the second half we were the better team for 20 minutes but conceded a goal against the run of play and then there was no way back for us.
"After that, Derby relaxed and played the football they can with those players. I thought they were a good team before we came here, I've seen them a couple of times this year and they've got some wonderful footballers."
