'Everyone aged 10 years' - Warne on Rams' first win
- Published
Derby County boss Paul Warne said the tension of Saturday's narrow win against Middlesbrough would have made Rams supporters "age by about 10 years".
Kayden Jackson's cool first-half finish proved the difference against a Boro side that failed to make their dominance count.
The victory at a packed Pride Park was Derby's first in the Championship at home for 855 days having spent two seasons in League One.
"We knew it was going to be difficult," Warne told BBC Radio Derby.
"We are not always going to play like that, but we understood the threats they have and we had to break from our shape with pace from Nate [Nathaniel Mendez-Laing] and Kayden and it worked well a times, but we also had to defend really well at times."
Warne said Josh Vickers added to his reputation as an "excellent keeper", having made a series of crucial saves a day after Derby brought in Swede Jacob Widell Zetterstrom to compete for the number one spot.
The Rams boss was "proud" of his entire side for "literally giving everything".
He added: "The lads all put their bodies on the line.
"And I have to thank the fans because everyone has left the stadium aged by about 10 years. We had to give everything."
Beating Boro, a side that followed up its season-opening league win against Swansea City with a commanding 3-0 Carabao Cup victory at Leeds United, is what Warne sees as a benchmark performance.
"Three points in the Championship are big points," Warne said.
"It's confidence and a reality check that this is the standard."