We looked effective every time we went on the attack

Last updated : 05 April 2009 By Tony Scholes
Nigel Clough you would have thought might just have accepted that his side had been second best in the second half and offered very little, you would have thought he might just have been relieved to have got a point they hardly deserved.

But he was adamant that the point was no less than they deserved. "I thought over the course of the game we deserved it," he said. "We had gone three at the back for the last few minutes and shoved Paul Connolly in to an outside right position.

"Again the goal has come from a cracking cross and it was no more than we deserved. Burnley are an extremely good side and we matched them for the majority of the game. We have a soft goal away and without that we may well have won it.

"After Burnley scored they had a period where they were spraying the ball around and their confidence was up, but we ground our way back into the game. In the first half we'd had a good shout for a penalty and we could well have gone in one up at half time.

"We've some tough games coming up and have to keep battling as we did today."

Owen Coyle didn't quite see it the same way but wasn't happy at the way we surrendered the lead in the last minute of stoppage time. "To lose a goal as late as that was disappointing, but it was the manner of the goal that really hurt," he admitted after the game.

"You have to know how to win a game and we didn't do that well enough this afternoon. We had opportunities to win the game and I felt Joey Gudjonsson should have had a penalty to put the game to bed in the second half.

"For Joey, it was a stone wall penalty. Joey was the wrong side of the lad. It would seem odd to go down when you are through on goal. However, you still have to see the game out whatever and we didn't do that."

He continued: "A lot of teams coming to Derby would be pleased with a point, but we are disappointed and that probably shows how far we have come. As it is, it may turn out to be the most important point of the season and we just have to focus on our games and today I think we have shown we are a very good team.

"Derby had one or two situations in the first half, but we had two or three gilt edged chances too and I felt we bossed the game. We looked effective every time we went on the attack and to all intents and purposes I really couldn't see a Derby goal coming.

"But as I have said before the margins are minimal in this league and if you switch off for a second you can get hurt."

Coyle ended by explaining why Graham Alexander was substituted for the first time this season. "He never trained all week and had a fitness test on Saturday morning," he said. "He has tweaked his calf, probably from protecting his hamstring, but I don't envisage him missing any games.

"I am disappointed that he came off and couldn't complete ninety minutes, but knowing the job he does and the emphasis we place on him, I would think he will be ok for QPR."