Frank Lampard was left frustrated as Derby were beaten 1-0 at Bolton at the University of Bolton Stadium.
Despite dominating possession for long periods, they struggled to find a way back into the game after Craig Noone had given Bolton a 10th minute lead with a well-placed header.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Lampard’s men who earlier in the week had dumped Manchester United out of the Carabo Cup with a penalty shootout win at Old Trafford.
“It is very frustrating to lose after good performances in the last two or three games,” said Lampard.
“We did not show enough creativity. We weren’t at it with our passing and we weren’t crisp enough to get into the area we normally get into.
“When you concede early against a team that will defend well as they did it makes the afternoon difficult.
“We have come back in games a few times this season, but you can’t keep doing that. It is something we said to the players beforehand.@
Derby’s Mason Mount was sick on the pitch moments before the kick-off but Lampard said he had no qualms about him starting the game.
He added: “Once you go behind at these places it’s tough. It is just one of those days.
“The beauty of the Championship is you do move on quickly, but I am a bit fed up saying that. If we want to be as successful as we want to be we cannot go up and go down, win some then lose some. We have to get some consistency. That’s up to the players.@
Bolton assistant manager Steve Parkin took the post-match press conference because Phil Parkinson had lost his voice.
He was immensely proud of his side’s battling performance which earned them their first win in six games.
“It was an outstanding display against an outstanding team,” Parkin said.
“I have been to watch Derby a couple of times over the last four weeks and I think Frank’s got a fine balance of experience and youth
“We knew they had some extremely gifted players and we knew we’d have to be at our best and I think we probably were.
“The goal helped settle everyone given our home form has not been fantastic. The spirit, drive and concentration of the team to do the job that we set out to do was impeccable.
“The key thing for us was patience and making sure the players stuck to the tactics we had set out in the week. I thought they carried it out to the letter. It was a super win for us.
“We have to give the players and staff credit because this is a tough division and the games come thick and fast against teams like Derby and Stoke City who have got big budgets, big squads and very good players. We can’t compete financially but we can be competitive.”
