LAMPARD: I DON’T NEED REALITY CHECK

FRANK LAMPARD, sent off on Saturday, believes Derby County’s promotion ambitions will not hinge on setbacks such as those suffered at Rotherham but on how his players respond. The Derby manager is hoping the referee’s report to the FA today results in a fine rather than a ban for his red card so that he can lead the recovery from the dugout in tomorrow’s home game against Blackburn. But he denied the Rotherham humiliation was the reality check that he needs to recognise the challenge of Championship football. Lampard was frustrated by the decisions that led to Paul Warne’s side winning through Ryan Manning’s penalty in the 63rd minute, five minutes after Derby winger Tom Lawrence had been dismissed for scything down Richie Towell. The former England captain criticised the officials’ lack of communication, which led during the match to his angry remonstration with an assistant referee for which referee Peter Bankes produced his red card ‘like a whippet’. Rotherham disrupted Derby’s flow and were quick to flare up when Lawrence’s poor tackle sparked a melee. But Lampard, unaccustomed to life below the top flight in his long and distinguished playing career, dismissed the idea that such a rumbustious affair was an eye-opener for him. ‘We don’t need a reality check,’ he said. ‘This is the Championship and we will get this. It will happen again. Leeds drew today against Millwall. ‘It’s the Championship — the important thing is how we bounce back from this. ‘Of course you don’t want to come here and lose but the important thing for us is that we bounce back. ‘The beauty of the Championship is that the next game comes in three days. ‘The frustration will clear very quickly. It’s more a recovery situation with the players. Do the good things that we have been doing to get us four wins on the trot. We will be at home with our own fans behind us. ‘If we can continue playing the way we were playing, I think we will have a chance against anyone in this league. ‘This is football. I can’t ask for wins every week, far from it, and I am enjoying it. Maybe I enjoy it too much, that’s why I get so emotional and end up getting a red card.’ Promoted Rotherham relished their triumph but manager Warne urged his team to treat what felt like a giant-killing as nothing extraordinary. ‘We’ve got two massive games coming up against Villa and Forest away,’ he said. ‘So I don’t want the lads to see it like they’ve just won a cup final. They’ve just won a game.’