Boss Paul Warne says he “understands the dog’s abuse” his Derby County side is getting and acknowledges that the job has been tougher than he expected.
There were boos for the Rams following Saturday’s defeat by Shrewsbury, with captain Conor Hourihane going on to argue with some supporters.
“No-one wants their team booed off,” Warne told BBC Radio Derby.
“No-one goes into work to get dog’s abuse, but I understand it as well – they [fans] are disappointed with our level of performance and I know how emotional football is.
“Of course I understand it, but I can’t say I like it.
“But if you want fans to get behind the team when they are winning and they are really emotional, the downside is that if things are probably not going as well they will be emotional.
“I understand it in the heat of the moment, after the game, and I’m aware of what happened.
“The lads aren’t talking about it, it’s not a big thing in the dressing room – they are not crying about it or anything.”
Derby were seventh in the League One table when Warne took the job at Pride Park in September 2022, having left Championship side Rotherham to drop a division and join the Rams rebuild – after they were brought out of administration earlier that summer.
They eventually finished the campaign in that exact place in the table, missing out on the play-offs on the final day.
It was the first time Warne had managed in the division and failed to take a side up.
‘Harder than I anticipated’
With a transfer embargo lifted in the summer, Derby were widely seen as favourites for promotion this season.
But with a quarter of the league campaign already gone, they are four points adrift of the top six and 13 off leaders Portsmouth.
“I’d like to say I’d come in on a horse with a magic stick and just get 40 wins, but it hasn’t been the case,” Warne said.
“It has probably been a bit harder than I anticipated.
“There have been really good signs, but Saturday really pulled the curtain back a little bit and I thought we are probably a little bit further off than I’d like to be.
“I don’t think we are in a bad spot. If we scored in the last minute and got a point at the weekend it wouldn’t feel so dramatic.
“And its not the lads’ fault, but when they are the pre-season favourites to win the title, it comes with something and when you lose a game it is a bigger catastrophe. And no-one feels it greater than me.”
