“Average at best”: A look into Derby County’s start to the League One season

Paul Warne’s Derby County side see themselves 11th in League One after six games recording three wins and three losses which is average at best.

Expectations are as high as ever this season as fans are demanding promotion or bust and so far the Rams have not looked like top three team, something which manager Paul Warne admitted after thier fourth game against Fleetwood Town.

The Rams started off very poor against newly relegated Wigan Athletic with a performance which led to a 2-1 home defeat. However, things started to look more positive after the Rams’ away trip to Burton Albion where they netted three times in a 3-0 win.

Many would assume that this was a top class performance, however there was still more to be desired.

In Derby’s third game, they faced Oxford United at home also led the Rams to a second home defeat in a flat performance from Paul Warne’s team. Oxford have looked strong so far and defensive mistakes from Derby were capitalised on by a good Oxford team.

Derby then finally won their first home game of the season against a very poor Fleetwood side in a largely uninspiring performance, but Paul Warne’s team did at least come away with three points.

All of a sudden it looked as though things had clicked away at a good Peterborough side. A thumping 4-2 victory led to optimism around the Rams towards the end of the transfer window. Furthermore, a hat trick from Martyn Waghorn showed that he could be a worthy replacement for David McGoldrick from last season.

Finally, the Rams made the trip to promotion aiming Bolton Wanderers. In an unusual game which included a penalty for both teams, a fortuitous winning goal and a red card for Derby goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith, the Rams fell 2-1 in what was a slightly unlucky result.

Looking ahead, the Rams have a break as the game against Northampton Town was postponed which could be crucial to give the team chance to gel more and work on fitness.

Their next game will be a home test against promotion chasing Portsmouth on Saturday 16 September.