Jewell praises Rams faithful

Jewell praises Rams faithful

Another sell out crowd at Pride Park on Saturday for the visit of Sir Alex Ferguson`s star studded Manchester United, and Rams boss Paul Jewell was quick to thank the Rams faithful for their support, not only today but all season.

They played there part in the Rams spirited performance and gave their side a standing ovation at the end of the game, despite the loss.

Jewell told the official web site and RamsWorld: 'It would have been nice to have got something out of the game for the supporters but at least we can hold our heads held high today.

'Next week we go to Middlesbrough and the atmosphere will be flat compared with today and we can't let ourselves get sucked into that. There is no player of the year this year but if we did have one it would be the fans.

'Today was a day where we needed to show character after being beaten heavily by Chelsea and the supporters lifted us hugely today in the opening 20 minutes and we competed with one of the best teams in Europe. The fans deserve great credit for sticking with us even after United started well.'

The 33,072 crowd would have been pleased with the Rams battling performance and Jewell said of the overall performance.

'Ben Foster made two great saves in quick succession and we probably created more chances against Man United than we did against the likes of Preston and Sheffield Wednesday.

'One swallow doesn't make a summer but at least we got back a bit of pride and we can't wait for next season to come.'

Of United's goal, he added: 'Ronaldo is a wonderful player but they are a wonderful team - sensational. He made the finish look easy. We were a little disappointed in the goal we conceded but I'm not going to criticise the players today.

'I have criticised them heavily over the past couple of weeks and rightly so, but today is the day to say well done.

'We need to take this performance into Middlesbrough because we can't simply take next week off.

'We've still lost the game but its better coming in on Monday morning knowing that a bit of pride has been restored.'