A happy Frank Lampard hailed his Derby County side after they secured a 1-0 victory against ten man Wigan Athletic.

The home side had Kai Naismith sent off after quarter of an hour, a decision that upset the rhythm of the game. The Rams made them pay with a Jack Marriott goal not long after, the decisive strike between the two sides.

Wigan went direct in the second half and looked to get from back to front quickly, which made the result even more pleasing for the former Chelsea midfielder.

"In the first half, we were fantastic and probably should have had two or three goals, which would have made it comfortable," Lampard told Derbyshire Live. 

"They went very direct on us and our quality level dropped. At that point, keeping a clean sheet was the important thing. So I'm pleased with that, and I'm pleased with the win, because it is a tough place to come."

The three points lifts Derby to fourth in the table, five points shy of the automatic promotion places. Crucially, with the East Midlands derby approaching on December 17th, they're three points clear of bitter rivals Nottingham Forest.

Bristol City, Sheffield United and Leaders Norwich make up the opposition for the rest of 2018, before Middlesbrough visit on New Year's Day.

The Verdict

Frank Lampard has every right to be happy, he's making a good go of his first role in management, but the next few matches are crucial. A week tomorrow they face Forest and a victory there would be as big as any other they'll get this season.

It's a tough run between Christmas and new year and if they're still in the top six come 2019, they'll be in a great place.

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