Derby 1-0 Blackburn: Darren Wassall and Paul Lambert reaction
Thursday 25 February 2016 11:55, UK
Derby head coach Darren Wassall praised his side's "character and resilience" after they beat Blackburn 1-0 on Wednesday.
Jacob Butterfield's superb early strike was enough to secure back-to-back wins for Derby and a first home victory since Boxing Day.
It also boosted Derby's promotion hopes after a poor run of form had almost seem them slip out of the Championship play-off places.
"You saw both sides of Derby County tonight," said Wassall. "A brilliant goal by Butterfield, good enough to win any game and in the first half we played some really good football going forward.
"In the second half you saw the other side of the team which was full of character, resilience, determination and desire to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
"We challenged the players before the game that we would like a clean sheet and I thought the two centre-halves were magnificent, they headed everything. Blackburn threw everything into the box and I thought we defended magnificently.
"We are really pleased with that part of the side and that performance in the second half got us the result. That's six points in two games, back-to-back wins home and away and I'm very pleased for the players because they've put in a shift and have been brilliant in the last two games."
Paul Lambert, meanwhile, believes his Blackburn side are heading in the right direction despite the defeat.
"I think we deserved to win the game, I think Blackburn Rovers were the better team, I really do. I am proud of the way they played, there's a way to lose a game and I thought we were excellent.
"We have been playing well for a few weeks, there were some big performances, and I think the lads are starting to play. We played ever so well and there was a lot of edginess in the stadium.
"We had some great positions and maybe the one thing you could say was we never had the right weight of pass or the right decision but other than that, for work rate and endeavour, we couldn't ask for any more."
