It was a disappointed Lee Johnson who watched his young team crash out of the League Cup with a 1-0 home defeat to Championship side Derby County on Tuesday night. Although the result did not disgrace, considering the opposition, it still prompted Johnson to want his team to smarten up and pass the ball better.
Johnson commented, “We don’t want to pretend to be Barcelona when we’re not. Derby were up for it as well. They didn’t turn up thinking they could swan about. They sent someone to Stevenage and they have a big analysis team which they spend a lot of money on. Over 90 minutes they edged us, but we are a young side and we are only going to get better. I was a bit disappointed with the substitutes as I didn’t think they affected the game enough. I wanted a bit of energy and they didn’t really provide that. There were so many good bits about the game but for me it was all in the first half.”
“I am happy with the group I’ve got in. They are very willing and very honest and everything I said after the game they agreed with. We move on. Derby are a very good side so we certainly haven’t disgraced ourselves.”