Win at last, now boss hopes it’s a spark for campaign
PHILLIP Cocu believes Derby County’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over Norwich City can prove a turning point in the Rams’ season.
Derby travelled to Carrow Road sitting in the bottom three of the Championship and without a point from three fixtures.
They had lost to Reading and Luton Town, and to Blackburn Rovers, heavily 4-0, in their previous outing.
Cocu asked for a reaction and the players delivered.
They dug in, David Marshall made some fine saves and they also rode their luck as Norwich striker Teemu Pukki missed a penalty when the contest was goalless.
The Rams won it late on when skipper Wayne Rooney curled in a free kick.
“You never know in football but I think this is an important turning point,” Cocu said.
“They (the players) came closer to each other in this week.
“But we are not done, we have to keep the work going because there are a lot of games to come.
“The main reason for the win was the absolute team performance, everybody gave their best to the team.
“Somebody might lose the ball or give a bad pass, that is part of the game, but he wins his battles and trusts his team-mates to step up when he loses a situation. “That is what we need to see every
game.
“Luck will come your way if you deserve it, today we deserved it.” Injury ruled Louie Sibley out of the Rams’ squad on Saturday. The 19-year-old midfielder had started four of the Rams previous five matches this season ahead of the trip to Carrow Road.
“He is injured,” Cocu confirmed when asked about Sibley.
“He slipped twice in training on Tuesday and still has a muscle problem.
“We expect maybe a few weeks, not too long, but it is hard to predict with muscle injuries.
“That is the reason why he was not part of the squad.”