HONEYMOON OVER, GARY!
GARY ROWETT admits his honeymoon period at Derby is over after they were battered by Brentford.
The Rams boss suffered his first defeat since returning to the club, as County’s play-off hopes were all but finished off at Griffin Park.
Two goals each from Jota and Lasse Vibe earned the Bees a deserved win and Rowett (right) admitted his troops were simply not at the races.
He said: “I’ve been married for 20 years. The honeymoon is over!
“We need to focus on what we need to do next season to make that final step.
“It was a poor performance. We made it too easy for them. Our standards were nowhere near good enough.
“We gave up the ghost after the second goal, which was disheartening. We stopped working and I told the players I didn’t like it.” David Nugent should have given Derby an early lead, when he found himself through on goal, only to be denied by Bees keeper Daniel Bentley. That miss proved costly as the hosts went ahead just after the half-hour mark. Jota was allowed time to pick out Vibe, who swivelled to fire the ball beyond Scott Carson for his fifth goal in as many games. Rowett responded to Derby’s dismal firsthalf showing with a double change as Will Hughes and Darren Bent entered the fray. The visitors improved and Johnny Russell was unlucky not to level when his shot was beaten away by Bentley. Brentford made it 2-0 on 70 minutes. Josh Clarke picked out Jota, whose low strike caught out Carson and nestled into the near corner. Vibe added a third late on when he finished off a fine team move from the edge of the box. There was still time for Jota to double his tally on 90 minutes, skinning Richard Keogh before slotting home to add gloss to the scoreline. Bees boss Dean Smith said: “Since the turn of the year we’ve been excellent. “It was a very good performance and one of the best results since I’ve been in charge, considering the calibre of the opposition. “In the first half especially we were exceptional.”