Paul Warne comes out fighting after Derby County defeat leaves Rams in relegation zone

Warne says he is still the man to rescue Derby County after defeat to Cardiff City left them

two points adrift of safety in the Championship relegation zone.

Derby slumped to a sixth successive league defeat with a 2-1 reverse against the Bluebirds in what was a

familiar tale of missed chances and conceding soft goals.

Warne’s side had the better of the first half and really should have taken a lead into the half-time break with

Jerry Yates having a goal ruled out for offside.

But Callum Robinson scored after half-time when he pounced on a mistake from Jacob Widell Zetterstrom

before Anwar El Ghazi doubled the lead almost immediately.

Lars-Jorgen Salvesen pulled a goal back with a fine header and the missed a glorious chance to make it 2-2.

Defeat leaves Derby in the bottom three, two points adrift of safety.

Asked whether he still felt he could rescue the team from their current situation,

Warne said: “I do because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t turn up for work tomorrow and

I’d drive round to David Clowes’ house.

“I thought the performance today wasn’t one of an underconfident and underperforming team.

Our job is to get the best out of the team and I am not going to turn my back on the group.

If we had scored the first goal we would have been handsome.

But we are just at the point where we are feeling a bit sorry for ourselves and feeling a little downbeat.

“But you just have to shake yourself down and attack the next game. I am not defeatist or a bad loser.

I am a realist. Did the lads perform at their very best today? In some parts, yes. In some others, possibly not.

I could say that about every team we play against.

“We will try to pick the lads up and I don’t believe that we were second best today.

I don’t believe we won’t catch Cardiff, because I think we will. But as away performances go,

we should have come away with something. That’s what is disappointing.”