Kenny Jackett post Derby County...
ROTHERHAM United boss Kenny Jackett admits he is still searching for an answer to his side’s defensive woes after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Derby County.The Millers gave themselves a mountain to climb as they found themselves two goals down in the first 20 minutes after Tom Ince pounced on a rebound after ‘keeper Lee Camp had saved his initial penalty before Darren Bent doubled the Rams lead with a well-taken effort.
Ince added a third for the home side in the second half before Camp denied the former Hull City man a hat-trick with a fine penalty save.
Speaking following the iPro Stadium affair, Jackett insisted his side must improve their goals against column if they are to have a reversal of fortunes.
“We are still struggling to find a defensive set up that can keep us competitive.” he admitted.
“The outstanding statistic for us is again, the goals against column. Maybe we over-committed men forward and it’s all frustrating when you lose a game as a coach.
“I think the better side won and I can’t say that wasn’t the case. We actually started the game well but we gave them two goals which was disappointing.”
Jackett believed his side acquitted themselves well at the beginning of each half but he conceded that defensive errors contributed to his side’s downfall.
“We actually started the game pretty well for the first 20/25 minutes, we had a lot of it,” he added.
“We had a fair amount of the ball and made some inroads on both wings but we gave two poor goals away on the counter attack.
“We were in good positions and they’ve gone down the other end and it was a poor challenge for the penalty and then we’ve been caught in a one-on-one situation at the back.
“It was similar in the second half and we started okay. We played some football and got in and around their box but again we gave another poor, straight forward goal away in the second half.”
Despite the disappointing nature of the result in Derbyshire, Jackett was quick to praise the efforts of his forward players, who toiled well with little reward against Steve McClaren’s high-flyers.
“Izzy Brown showed that he had some power when he came on and Odemwingie and Ward did well too,” Jackett added.
“We have some players going forward but it’s just at the other end.
“We need to be better than we’ve been than we have this season and that’s the big thing. For us to be competitive in this league, we need to address the goals against column first."