Jourdan

It’s a cliche but the best approach to take things one game at a time. The first step is bouncing back quickly and getting a positive result v Fleetwood to consolidate our position in the top six. We can’t take that for granted in itself. There is no point focusing on other teams and getting wrapped up in chasing them down. They are not going to be worrying about us. Portsmouth, Bolton and Peterborough will simply be looking to win the next game and maintain their own pace. Barnsley, Oxford and Stevenage will be pushing hard too. We have to focus on ourselves and get the small wins and things will snowball. If we can stay laser focused and routinely win the games we would be expected to, it puts less pressure on the games v the top 6/7.

Fleetwood 1-2 Derby Collins

I think Peterborough do well bringing through and recruiting young players, but they also benefit from a lack of pressure. They can operate as this breeding ground for young, lower league talent because there is little expectation on the club to progress and as a club, they understand their position in the pecking order. I look at their team today. Mason-Clark, Poku, Jones, Randall, Collins, Burrows, Edwards - all young players that either came through their academy or were picked up as rising talents from clubs lower down the pecking order (Barnet, Orient, Exeter) I just don’t think we are in a position to take so many risks and allow so many young players to develop all at once because usually there is a premium attached if we target players of a similar ilk.

Granted I missed the first 15 minutes due to streaming issues, but from what I saw, it was a good contest. We all know midfield can be a problem area and Bird and Hourihane are not the long term answer but at the moment, they are our most reliable options. Naturally they cannot match such a midfield for pace, energy and intensity. NML and Wilson provided our pace, trickery and movement. The problem was that they couldn’t play for 90 minutes and their replacements were not as effective. I am not saying Peterborough weren’t good, but in my view, it was a tight game decided on mistakes. Look at two of the three goals conceded. One from a short corner that Cashin and Nelson would ordinarily deal with 9 times out of 10. Similarly, with the winner, a situation that one of Wildsmith, Cashin or Nelson deals with. Maybe a cameo from Bradley was missed. I don’t feel like Peterborough blew us away. They kept the ball well and played in the right way. They had spells on top, but so did we.

A good contest between two well matched sides, but we let ourselves down in the last 15 minutes. It was desperately disappointing. Peterborough are a good team - good in possession, plenty of dynamism, athleticism, pace, power and movement - and they acquitted themselves well. They deserve credit as their heads never dropped and they kept pushing us. However we gifted them the three points with two uncharacteristically poor moments in defence. If you go 2-1 up and get to the 80 minute mark in a winning position, defend well and force the opposition to do something special to get back into the game. Instead we conceded two goals of the poorest quality and that will sting for a while. It’s not a time to be too hard on Warne or the players. 8 wins in 10 shows they are giving everything they can. All we can do now is bounce back quickly and win on Saturday. Anything less and Portsmouth, Peterborough and Bolton will soon be out of sight.

Just admit you were wrong and join us on the Pro-Warne Express. We all make mistakes.

Lighten up, mate. You know how this forum works.

Just joking. On a serious note, I think Warne actually enjoys the love-hate relationship with the fans. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him cupping his ears on the open top bus in May.

I don’t blame him. @Caerphilly Ram has been gunning for him for months now. It’s bound to take its toll.

Warne reading all of our posts after 20 minutes:

A predictable outcome. We were due an off day. We’ll bounce back on Monday.

Mendez-Laing is on track for the most productive season of his career, so it’s inevitable there’ll be January interest. I think the club will be open to a deal - it would free up some wages and we could possibly use any proceeds to invest in a longer term option in the mould of Kane Wilson. Of course he would be a loss as no-one wants to lose their most productive player mid-season, however you can see why the club might entertain it. Mendez-Laing is having a great season but he is the kind of player that could be red hot for 20 games and then go 15-20 games with far lesser output.

I have a horrible feeling that this could be another Stevenage. I am expecting a really tough game and it will be a job well done to get a point and keep momentum rolling. However if we win it would be a massive statement of intent and I think it would be the first time in the past 18 months in League One that you could reasonably argue we look like a credible automatic promotion contender. Fingers crossed.

Oxford 2-0 Derby Rodrigues

Warne reading the forum every week since Stevenage away:

Seven wins in eight. Six points from top with a game in hand.

Massive result and a case of job done and move on. Winning when you are not at full flow is so important. However the performance really underlined that the balance of the team is not quite right. For me, it raised question marks over Ward, Barkhuizen and the midfield. Better teams would exploit these weak points. The conditions were probably a factor in the performance - it was very cold and windy all day. It certainly looked like it led to some less than composed passes and some unpredictable bounces and movement. But that aside, you can see why we are amongst the chasing pack and not champions in the making. We are a top six side missing some extra quality and balance to make us a genuine and sustainable top two side. Maybe January will help..:

First game at PP for us since the opening day. I remember being so angry with that result that I had visions of disappearing to an Italian island and forgetting football exists. Here’s hoping for better tonight! I’d go for: Wildsmith Nyambe - Nelson - Cashin - Forsyth Bird - Fornah - Sibley Wilson - Collins - NML

Nuno did a fantastic job at Wolves and he is surely getting the job on the strength of that. The thinking behind it is obvious: if Nuno could achieve top 10 finishes and a European run with Wolves, why not Forest? I think the one thing that the Forest board may have overlooked is that Wolves’s success was built on recruitment and having great connections. The recruitment at Forest has been anything but joined up, and without good recruitment, I am not sure that Nuno raises their ceiling much higher.

Derby 4-0 Lincoln Mendez Laing

A point isn’t the end of the world. We were bound to come unstuck at some point. It would have been nice to go into the Christmas fixtures on a long winning run, but we know this group of players have a ceiling and consistency is an issue and high performance levels are difficult to maintain. What’s important is we bounce back in midweek and win v Lincoln to keep momentum and confidence flowing. To me, a game like today underlines our limitations. We are good enough for top six but drop too many points to be front runners.

Derby 3-0 Wycombe Collins

You have to wonder what’s changed. After Stevenage away, Warne and the boys looked like a half eaten Irish breakfast. In fairness, when you get soundly beaten by a Steve Evans side, it will lead even the most positive people down a road of introspective despair. Now if we win our next two home games, we could go into the festive period v Wigan, Oxford and Peterborough as the form team in the division and on the cusp of the top two. I can’t wait for Lincoln at home. My fiancée will be leading the chants of ‘If you love Paul Warne, jump around.’ when we are 4-0 up.

Five league wins in a row and edging closer to the top two. A comfortable passage into the latter stages of the EFL Trophy. We’re back!

I’ve just realised that I’ll be on my honeymoon over the weekend of the final. Where’s my hatchet?