Paul Warne eager for Derby County to "go on another run" after Peterborough loss

Paul Warne's Derby County side are one of the hottest sides in League One despite a loss at the weekend.

They fell 3-2 to Peterborough United in what was a thrilling 90 minutes where the Rams conceded a late goal to go home empty handed.

Derby sit in fourth place, just five points off second place and seven points away from league leaders Portsmouth.

They face a Fleetwood Town side on Saturday who sit in last place but have recently appointed a new manager in the form of former Liverpool, Blackpool and Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam.

Ahead of the game, Derby boss Paul Warne spoke to Rams TV to give his thoughts on his side's recent form. He said: "On reflection, we are pleased for the most part. Sometimes the opposition are just very good and the opposition were Peterborough, though collectively we weren't at our best as well.

"It's just about us going on another run now. We're not going to win every game we play but, over the course of the Christmas period, I thought we looked really good and against very good teams."

Unlike last season, the Rams' goals have come from a number of different players, something that Paul Warne wanted to achieve at the start of the year. He said its important to work as a collective.

The Derby boss added: "You can't rely on one player, you need to share things out. I know what January and the transfer window brings. It brings a level of excitement external to the training ground but it also brings agents to the party who work for their players.

"The more players you can make feel part of things through their hard work, the better. Hopefully, we have a group that are going to stay together and one we can add to.

"It's not necessarily the best set of players that have success, it's the chemistry of that group. We just need to keep the squad and momentum going."

The Rams are looking to bolster their squad in January ready for a promotion push in the second half of the season. Most notably, a striker and centre midfielder seem to be top of Derby's shopping list.

A number of Derby players have been attracting interest, none more so than star midfielder Max Bird who is yet to sign a contract extension meaning that he could be on his way out in this window.

Warne says that his aim is to improve but also keep hold of his best players. He added: "My aims are to fundamentally keep the team winning and if we can improve the team, improve it.

"Trying to keep the best players here isn't easy and trying to improve it which again isn't easy because we're one of the best teams in the league."

This weekend, Warne's players make the trip to Fleetwood to face a struggling Cod Army who sit bottom of the League One table.

The Derby boss certainly isn't taking his opponents for granted though, he said: "They've had an indifferent time. Last year, and in previous seasons, they've always been a bit of a bogey team but we've done okay against them this season so far in the league and the cup.

"They played well at Shrewsbury in their last game and were unlucky to lose. We'll have to be at our best to win and that's how it is every week. Even on our unbeaten run, we still had games where they came down to the smallest of margins. Hopefully we are on the right side of them at the weekend."