Paul Warne felt Derby County paid the price for being “soft” after a poor first-half performance allowed Swansea win 2-1 at Pride Park.
The Rams fell far short of the required quality, conceding twice in the first 15 minutes, with Zan Vipotnik and Ronald both scoring.
Derby staged a determined comeback after that, with Kayden Jackson hitting the crossbar in the second half before Nathaniel Mendez-Laing converted a penalty.
And while Derby were the better team for 60 minutes, head coach Warne said they had given themselves too much to do.
“We didn’t get close enough, we weren’t aggressive enough and just looked a bit soft,” he informed me. “That is my honest opinion. It’s my fault. I send the crew out. Maybe I didn’t message it correctly. Sometimes it’s not about shape or strategy. That’s what I thought the distinction was.
“Their first goal was an incredible finish. They deserve credit for it. A worldie goal can help you win a game. Strangely, following Jacob’s injury, the lads came over, and I thought Callum was unlucky to win a penalty.
“I watched it again, and if I didn’t believe it was, I would say. I’m not that man. After the first 25 minutes, it appeared that we were the only team who would score.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had 70 minutes to watch my squad offer everything. That is all I can ask. Unfortunately, we fell short, but I don’t believe we had that many chances in the Championship this season. It was frustrating to start so poorly. That’s a lesson for all of us: we probably won 4-2 in League One last year, but the Championship is another level. “We need to start games better.”
