Paul Warne Clarifies Post-Leeds Defeat Comments

Derby County head coach Paul Warne has offered clarification regarding statements he made subsequent to his team’s 2-0 loss against Leeds United on Saturday. After Joe Rodon and Max Wober scored, leaving the Rams trailing by two goals at half-time, Warne faced criticism from certain segments of the Rams’ supporters for acknowledging that he had instructed his squad not to pursue an attacking strategy in the second half. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Warne stated, “Of course I understand [the criticism] – if I’ve paid for a ticket, I want my team to go for it guns a-blazing.” Prior to Tuesday’s match against a strong Burnley side, Warne’s team has now suffered defeats in their last three league fixtures and is currently experiencing a five-game winless streak. The 51-year-old coach conceded that his intention was to mitigate the potential impact of a significant loss. He further elaborated, “I am probably more honest than the average manager, and what I said to them at half-time was do not concede the next goal.” Warne continued, “For 20 minutes, they’re going to come at you just like they did in the first half, you’re just going to have to weather the storm.” He added, “Unfortunately, the only real thing that we created was a good chance off a set-piece.” Concluding his remarks, Warne noted, “If Kane [Wilson] had scored it, it would have gone 2-1 with 15, 20 minutes to go, and the game plan would have looked great.”