Exhausting and surreal says Warne after Rams secure their promotion
PAUL Warne said he felt “relief and pride” after leading Derby County to promotion to the Championship.
The Rams secured a 2-0 victory over Carlisle United to secure second place as their return to the second-tier was confirmed.
Goals in each half from Max Bird and James Collins sealed the win amid jubilant scenes at the final whistle as thousands of fans spilled on to the pitch.
Head coach Warne said he was pleased to repay owner David Clowes for the faith and belief he has shown in him after appointing him in September 2022.
Asked to sum up his emotions, Warne said: “Just relief and pride really.
“You wake up in the morning and pretend like it is any other game but it isn’t.
“You have to try to convince the lads to play it like any other game. That’s difficult because they are not idiots.
“David Clowes brought us in – and I appreciate, not the most popular choice. We’ve come in here to get promoted and we’ve done it.
“We fell short last year and we wanted to win the title this year.
“We didn’t but we tried to get an average of two points per game, which we did.
The lads have been great and I am really pleased for everybody who works at the club, the fans and there is no greater fan than the owner.
“It’s nice when somebody shows you that much respect and belief that you can pay them back. “The highlight for me, and this sounds really saccharine, was when I saw David and his wife Cath. All the heartache and the stress I’ve taken off my life is worth it.”
Warne also revealed how he plans to celebrate promotion. While the club’s fans and players looked set to party on Saturday night, following jubilant scenes at Pride Park, Warne insisted he would will not be joining them. “My missus will tell me off in a minute for not having any promotion emotion but I’m just exhausted,” he said.
“If I could lie down here and go to sleep I would. “I won’t drink, I’ll drive home, take my dog out and buy him some pork scratchings and be pleased to be with him. “Then (on Sunday) I’m taking my coaches and their wives out and I’ll be blind drunk, whereas today I just want to get back to my own house and sit down and think ‘thank god’ because emotionally it’s just exhausting.
“It still feels surreal, it won’t sink in for a few days but now I’ll just drive home and have a nice evening.”
Carlisle’s manager Paul Simpson, the former Derby County winger, was disappointed that his side did not make Derby work harder for their win.
“I thought the level of performance was OK,” he said.
“We talked about trying to keep it tight early on and see if we could make them a bit nervous but it was a fantastic strike from Bird, I’ve got to give him that.
“I can complain that we allowed him to come inside but I think it’s a great strike.
“After that I thought it settled us down and we managed to play and pass the ball well.
“We had a bit of control without really creating good chances.
“Their second goal was a real sucker punch because it was a straight ball and we didn’t deal with it.
“Derby do that well, they put balls in the box and cause you problems with their big lads.
“They win first contact and you’ve got to be prepared to go and win the second ball.
“We got into good areas, but we didn’t work the goalkeeper enough. That has been the story of our season.
“I’ve said to the players, these are the occasions you have to aspire to. We’re saying that they have to want to be part of these occasions, like we’ve seen for
Derby. “