Paul Warne: Derby County boss told to 'keep rocking on' by owner but knows improvement needed
- Published
Paul Warne has won 28 and lost 17 of his 62 games in charge of Derby
Derby County boss Paul Warne says he knows the club are "way short of where we need to be" after receiving owner David Clowes' backing over his future.
Pressure has been mounting on the 50-year-old in the wake of the Rams' inconsistent form, which continued with Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Stevenage.
Warne told BBC Radio Derby that Clowes said he was to "keep rocking on" in his efforts to take the club forward.
"We're trying to get every drop out of every department," Warne said.
"We've come here to try to get success and try to rebuild the club and push it in a positive direction.
"Obviously on the back of that performance and defeat [at Stevenage] it's depressing."
The loss was Derby's second in their past three League One games and leaves them ninth in the table, five points off the top six.
It also stretched a stuttering run of league form that has seen them win three times in nine matches.
Warne knows owner Clowes is 'hurting'
Warne, who was appointed just over a year ago, has acknowledged and understood the flack that has come the team's way.
He told BBC Radio Derby it has been tough at times and appreciated the support that Clowes, who saved the club from liquidation nearly 18 months ago, gave him after the Stevenage defeat.
"I did feel low because I'm aware of what's been happening and the owner was there and just said to me 'just keep rocking on', which was nice," Warne said.
"Sometimes you need that as a manager. It's a lonely place in the dugout at times when you're 3-1 down with five minutes to go.
"It was really nice of him. But I also know how much he's hurting because he wants the team to be successful."
It is also understood the club want a "stable and sustainable" future and will back Warne in the January transfer window to further shape his squad.
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Top of Warne's list is reducing the average age of his playing squad which, at 27, is the oldest in League One.
"The foundations are there to build the club. January's coming up and it's an exciting time for us," Warne said.
"We may have to be a bit clever in the market - we need to strengthen to become the team we want to be. At the moment we're dynamic in some areas, not in others.
"Our age group of the team isn't ideal, so three games in a week might not be perfect.
"We need to push the age of the team down. We need to be more resilient and kill teams off when we have the ball.
"We could just do with a bit more youth, pace and athleticism - that makes getting after teams easier."
'We aren't the team we were'
Despite the hardships of the past few years, Warne accepts there is an expectation Derby should be challenging for a return to the Championship - but says that must be tempered with reality.
"I'm just trying to be honest and candid - I understand fans don't want me to tell them we're a mid-League One club but, on the pitch, currently we are," he said.
"In the same way, there's no point Manchester United thinking they're going to win the Champions League this year because they're not the team they were.
"We aren't the team we were. We're trying to build a new team - a new club, really.
"I could sit here and say 'we should be top of the league' - and we should be in name and facilities - but we haven't put the performances in to justify being top.
"Our performances haven't been good enough to get us in the top two so we have to have a reality check.
"We aren't as good as we want to be and we have to improve if we are going to get out of this league."
Warne says if he cannot steer the Rams into the play-offs this season, then it would be "absolutely" fine if the club sacked him.
"If we're not in the top six then I understand criticism will come at the staff," he said.
"We haven't done it yet and we're way short of where we need to be."
The Rams take on Northampton Town on Tuesday hoping to generate some winning momentum, with Warne aware this team have only won two league games in a row twice since the end of January.
"Without back-to-back wins you never achieve anything," he said.
"I'm aware we haven't done it and I don't want to put pressure on the lads, but six points from two games can take you from 18th to fourth, or something crazy, in this league.
"I appreciate the fanbase aren't happy. They don't want to see their team lose - every fan of every club wants to turn up and see their team win and our amazing fans are no different.
"Hopefully we can put on a performance the fans can enjoy."
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