Derby County manager Paul Warne has challenged his squad to score more goals if they are to stand any chance of promotion from League One this season.
The Rams began the campaign as one of the early-season favourites to win a place in the Championship come May, but have endured an indifferent start to the season. They currently sit outside the play-off places in ninth, having picked up 18 points from their opening 11 games.
Last weekend’s clash with fellow promotion-hopefuls Charlton Athletic was postponed due to international call-ups, with their last league fixture coming a fortnight ago in a disappointing 1-1 draw against rock-bottom Cheltenham Town. The tie saw the Robins score their first league goal since May, but Derby were unable to emerge with three points despite their 18 shots on goal.
The East Midlands side are currently unbeaten in five, but it is draws which are costing them. Ultimately, it comes down to being able to break teams down and Paul Warne’s side have struggled to convert chances recently. They have hit the back of the net on 18 occasions thus far, although 10 of those came in August.
It is this which is causing concern for the former Rotherham United boss, who says his team must be more like league leaders Portsmouth if they are going to achieve their end goal this season. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, the 50-year-old said;
“I think we’ve got more in the tank. I know obviously I have the joy of seeing them train every day, I’m with them all the time, and I can see how great they can be.
“I think we’ve been amazing in moments in games, in control of a lot of the games. I just don’t think we have been effective enough in the final third.
“That’s what wins you games, we can’t rely on clean sheets or one goal. You need to really take teams to the sword if you want to be successful. I think we’ve been pretty close to that, but we haven’t consistently done that for 90 minutes, then the next 90 minutes, then the next 90 minutes.
“In fairness, I’m not expecting the team to win 4-0 every week. Portsmouth are top of the league, they haven’t lost, they haven’t been blowing teams away. They’ve just been quietly going about their business and winning games but they are outscoring us, and if you want to be in the top six, you just have to score more goals.
“I think collectively, the team know that, whether it’s from set pieces or open play, we need to get more goals into us.
“I don’t think there’s a lot wrong but without scoring goals, fundamentally your position in the league shows there is a lot wrong.”
Derby travel to Shrewsbury Town tomorrow knowing a win could push them closer to the play-off places. Bolton Wanderers currently occupy sixth position, just two points above the Rams.
Writer’s View
Paul Warne is right in his assessment that his team do not score enough goals. It’s even more odd considering they hit the ground running in August, but they have scored just eight goals since the turn of September.
No doubt it is something that has been worked on on the training ground during their enforced break over the course of the past week. The manager will be hoping that it is a wrong they can put right, starting tomorrow before they fall too far behind in the race for promotion.
