Derby County concern will stem from Kane Wilson's brutally honest assessment | OneFootball

The Rams' right-back spoke about the difficulties of holding onto a 1-0 lead in the Championship after Sunday's defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

The positive feeling surrounding Pride Park Stadium has slowly started to fizzle out for Derby County in recent weeks, with wins becoming harder and harder to come by.

The Rams have now won just one match in their last nine in the Championship, and although they are still 15th in the table, there will be a huge amount of worry for supporters about those below them with trips to both Leeds United and Burnley on the horizon.

Paul Warne's side had a very frustrating week to round out November and start the new month, with Preston North End holding them to a 1-1 draw at Deepdale just over a week ago before they lost to both Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 on their own path just days after one another.

Derby were punished for a poor start against the Swans last Wednesday, while they were beaten late by the Owls on Sunday in two games that nearly mirrored each other with the home side dominant large parts of both.

But for right-back Kane Wilson, more needs to be done to ensure that defensive work is not relied upon too often.

Wilson makes honest assessment after Sheffield Wednesday loss

After a difficult first 15 minutes against Swansea in the game prior, the Rams knew that they needed to get the crowd back on side on Sunday, and they did so almost immediately with Ebou Adams firing in from Marcus Harness' cross to hand them a lead after seven minutes.

Derby threatened throughout the game with Jerry Yates having two standout chances to double his side's lead and make it four goals in four games for him personally. However, he was denied by James Beadle on one occasion, before hitting the crossbar with a headed effort soon after.

They were made to pay for their misses, with Barry Bannan expertly finding the top corner with a stunning effort from outside the box. Jamal Lowe won the match in the 94th minute, turning in from a low Callum Patterson cross to hand Sheffield Wednesday all three points in a game that they would probably admit that they should not have won off the balance of play.

Wilson was left angry and upset after the final whistle, and when speaking to BBC Radio Derby, he explained that Curtis Nelson had spoken to the team following the game: "He said as defenders we have got to do better, but goals change games and if we go 2-0 up we take the wind out of their sails.

"That’s not an individual thing, that’s a team thing, we have got to be better in training, and it translate into the game.

"It’s tough. First-half was one of the best we played in a long time. Second-half we lost a bit of control. When it’s only 1-0 the anxiety starts to build."

Derby have to be better up front

Wilson is right, and while the Rams will need their forwards to score more when they get given the opportunity, responsibility lies with all the playing staff at the club.

The Rams have not scored more than one goal in a game since they beat Coventry City 2-1 at the start of November, and they have not done it at home since 5 October, when they ran out 2-0 winners against QPR.

In their last two games, they have accumulated an xG rate of 5.29, and scored just twice. This shows that they need to be more clinical as they are creating plenty of chances to find the back of the net.

Derby have the capacity to drag themselves away from those in the bottom three once again, but with difficult fixtures on the horizon, they must ensure they become more deadly in front of goal and punish teams for mistakes - rather than being punished themselves.