Unhappy With International Breaks

Like many managers, the frequent interruptions of international fortnights is a pain for Brown.

The latest, the third already this season, couldn’t come at a worst time for Derby. Fresh on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, the last thing Phil Brown wants to do is lose players for a fortnight, leaving him only 48 hours to prepare for the visit of Wolves. Let alone the additional worry of players picking up knocks and coming back unable to play.

‘It’s always disappointing to go into an international fortnight on the back of a defeat, and certainly with the way the defeat at Sheffield came about. We’re losing four or five players to internationals and won’t get them back into training until a week on Wednesday, when we’ll be working towards the Wolves game.’