Warne says there was ‘a bit of oddness’ on sidelines

PAUL Warne revealed he has some history with Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley after claiming there was “a bit of oddness” on the sidelines during Derby’s County’s draw at Fratton Park.

The technical area was as lively as the action on the pitch as both benches became animated, particularly in the first half.

Rams head coach Warne claimed one of Portsmouth’s tactics was to try to get Louie Sibley booked as quickly as possible.

“There was a bit of oddness going on,” said Warne.

“Everything seemed to be a booking and there were loads of jibs going on.

“That got me through the first half in fairness. History with them (the Cowley brothers)? I just had an issue with him (Danny) once about him approaching one of my players (at Rotherham United) which I wasn’t best pleased with.

“I am a bit stubborn like that. I can’t let things go. You’ve got to fight your corner, haven’t you?

“Their management team and players fight their corner and we have to for us. We just protect our lads if there’s a tackle we’re not happy with and let everyone know.

“I honestly felt like one of their tactics was to get Sibs booked as soon as possible. He did his first tackle which wasn’t that horrific and it was a yellow card straight away.

“That didn’t please me. But you have to play the cards you are dealt. That was a bit frustrating.”

Defender Craig Forsyth believes the Rams showed a “different side” to their game against Pompey.

“We defended the box really well and kept them at arm’s length really,” he told Ramstv.

“We had a few chances ourselves to nick it on the break and we showed a different side to ourselves, that we can dig in. We said at 0-0 that set-pieces were where we could win it and we were very close at the end.

“We lost another couple of lads (Nathaniel Mendez-laing and Haydon Roberts) to injury so we knew we’d be struggling for numbers but everyone played their part and the substitutes that came on made a difference and helped us see out the game well.

“It’s difficult (having to change formations) and with the short turn-around between games we don’t really have a lot of time to work on it.

“It’s a case of come in, recover, prepare and go again.

“We’ve not had a lot of time to work on things but we’re showing we’re taking on the messages that the staff are giving us and we dug in and took a good point.”

David Mcgoldrick hit the bar for the Rams in the first half and Pompey boss Cowley joked: “David Mcgoldrick shouldn’t be allowed to play in League One, it isn’t fair. He’s so talented.”

He added: “It is fair to be critical of us in terms of lacking a little bit of quality in our end product. We didn’t quite create chances or test their goalkeeper as much as we would have liked.

“We were up against a good team but I think some of the other games recently we have drawn we should have won. I think we are a group who will keep on working hard and keep fighting.

“We can live without a little quality but can’t without working hard with the right attitude.

“I thought it was a really competitive League One fixture between two good teams. We might have come up short in terms of a bit of quality but I’m proud of the attitude and desire.

“We acquitted ourselves well and were in the ascendancy for large periods of the game and were able to dominate the possession and territory.”