Stability and steady growth - Paul Warne’s first year at Derby County

Paul Warne has now been manager of Derby County for a year now after joining the Rams from Championship club Rotherham United in September 2022.

He took the step down to League One because of the size of Derby and the opportunity he had to rebuild a club that had faced so much adversity over the past five years.

One year on, the Rams are still in League One but seemingly in a place of stability and steady growth.

Appointment

Warne was appointed as Derby manager in September 2022 making him the first appointed manager of the David Clowes era of ownership after he took over the club in July 2022.

Clowes decided to make a move for Warne instead of keeping caretaker manager Liam Rosenior who had been Wayne Rooney’s assistant and a coach at Derby since 2019 when Phillip Cocu was the Rams boss.

Since his departure, Rosenior has found success as manager of Hull City, starting this new season very well with a team that looks a dark horse for Chamionship promotion.

Clowes opted for Warne instead because of his proven experience in League One. Warne has been promoted three times from the third division during his managerial career and this experience was seen to be a big draw to help the Rams get back into the Championship.

Upon joining the club, Warne showed a lot of enthusiasm saying that his end goal was to help the Rams get back to the Premier League, he told Rams TV: “There’s a handful of clubs that aren’t in the Premier League that will get to the Premier League.

“Whether I can play a part in that, a big part, a small part, whether I’m the lucky one that takes them back to the Premier League, that is the ambition of the club.”

First few weeks

In his first season, especially early on, there wasn’t much pressure on Warne because he’d inherited a team that was not his own. He wasn’t able to bring anyone in and so had to make do with the players that Rosenior has brough to Pride Park.

However, that being said, the Rams still had one of the most talented squads in League One and Derby fans were still quietly expecting promotion, or at least a playoff appearance.

Warne’s first few weeks looked positive, he started his tenure with a 2-0 away win against Cambridge United. However, his first home game was not a success with a 2-1 loss to Port Vale.

In his first six games, Warne led the Rams to three wins which was a good start for the new boss.

Unbeaten run

The highlight of last season was a 15-game league unbeaten streak which elevated the Rams well into promotion contention.

They won nine games in these 15 games including some big results such as a 5-0 home stomping of Morcambe, a crucial 2-1 win over promotion rivals Bolton and a convincing 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley.

At this point, Rams fans had seen all they needed to in convincing them that Warne was a good appointment.

It seemed as if everything was going right.

Missing out

It all started to go downhill for the Rams in late March. After a dissapointing 2-0 loss to Fleetwood Town, they then lost 2-0 to playoff chasing Peterborough in what was a crucial result for the Posh.

Derby then made the tough trip to Ipswich in which they lost their third game in a row.

The playoffs looked more and more doubtful for Derby and after they dropped points against MK Dons, Bristol Rovers and Portsmouth, the Rams’ playoff hopes came down to the final game against third placed Sheffield Wednesday.

Derby made the trip to Hillsborough needing a win to guarantee the playoffs. They also could have drawn or lost so long as Peterborough didn’t win thier game.

The Rams lost a frustrating game and with the Posh winning thier match, it left Derby in seventh and narrowly missing out on a chance to fight for promotion in the playoffs.

Warne’s first summer

Even though Paul Warne’s first season ended in dissapointment, Rams fans had seen flashes of what this Rams side could do under thier new boss, especially during their 15 game unbeaten run in the winter.

Furthermore, optimism was high going into the new season because Warne was able to bring in ‘his’ players that fitted his system.

Warne had always found success playing either three or five at the back with wing backs running down the lines. He looked to bolster this system when he signed wingers Joe Ward, Callum Elder and Kane Wilson in the summer, all of whom looked to suit Warne’s system.

The big story of the summer was the departure of David McGoldrick who had scored 20 league goals for Derby in Warne’s first year, which left the Rams looking to sign a striker in replacement.

Warne was very vocal on the struggles to sign a replacement, with Conor Washington and Martyn Waghorn eventually joining the Rams to help with goalscoring.

Under pressure

It was no secret that Derby County were the favourites to win the league or at least promotion in Warne’s second season. A team full of talent and a manger that had been able to recruit players to suit his system seemed to be a golden combination for the Rams’ promotion hopes.

However, the start for Warne’s side was not encouraging. They had two wins and two losses in the first four games, which doesn’t sound too bad, but the football was anything but.

The Rams looked flat and slow on many occassions, struggling to take chances and dominate the ball against opponents which they should have comfortably beaten such as Fleetwood Town which ended in a 1-0 win with a penalty to save the Rams.

Pride Park could be heard with boos in a number of games with lacklustre performances from a Derby side that was expected to light up a wide open League One.

Steady improvement

Warne’s Derby have slowly been looking better and better and with a number of key players returning from injury, optimism is starting to return to Pride Park.

Warne has switched from his ‘normal’ system to a more conventional four at the back which seems to have suited the Rams better. A 1-1 draw against high fliers Portsmouth and a solid 2-0 away win at Carlisle leaves the Rams in ninth place, just three points off the playoff places despite the slow start.

This next few weeks could determine Warne’s success this season, because anything other than at least the playoff places won’t be accepted by Derby fans and may not be accepted by owner David Clowes.

It won’t be easy, but having faced a rollercoaster of a first year at Derby, Paul Warne will be aware of the expectations and will have to use his League One experience to get this Derby side back into the Championship where they belong.

Solid and steady in his first year as Head Coach, Warne will be quietly optimistic that he can deliver on his promise to help Derby climb up the football league.