Derby County 0 Hull City 2: Hull manager Barmby deflects the plaudits towards his players

Barmby’s reign as caretaker manager following Pearson’s return to Championship rivals Leicester started impressively as first-half goals from Matt Fryatt and Cameron Stewart on his return from a serious knee injury condemned Derby to a third consecutive defeat.

But Barmby ruled out any masterstroke on his part when he said: “Although it’s my first game, it’s not about me.

“It’s about the players and always will be about them. I thought their attitude, desire, and determination was superb. Some of our passages of play were really pleasing on the eye and we created a number of chances.

“I have got good staff, it’s a team game and I don’t think any one individual can take any credit for it. The players executed the game plan which we asked of them. We don’t want them to be robots, we want them to express themselves as footballers and I thought they did that.

“You would be a fool to radically change what isn’t massively a problem. The lads have played like that the majority of the season, the last two games we’ve lost we’ve played like that, so there’s not a lot to change. Nigel (Pearson) did a great job for a year and a half at Hull City so you would be a fool to change it radically.”

Derby’s day was compounded by a hamstring injury to striker Theo Robinson after 15 minutes and manager Nigel Clough admitted: “It didn’t help.”

Derby had been the better side until Robinson’s exit and two minutes later, Hull were in front after Liam Rosenior was allowed to run at the defence before passing to Fryatt who turned and struck the ball high past Frank Fielding.

It got worse for the home side in the 24th minute when Fryatt’s clever ball put Stewart in on the right and he turned inside two defenders before unleashing a fierce shot that beat Fielding for pace.

Derby had to respond quickly but apart from an overhead kick from Chris Maguire, they rarely threatened the Hull goal and Peter Gulacsi did not have a save to make in the second half.

Instead it was Hull who went closest to scoring again and it needed a flying save from Fielding to deny substitute Robbie Brady a third in the 70th minute. Clough sent on defender Shaun Barker for his first game since knee surgery in April up front but nothing could shake Hull’s grip on the game or spoil Barmby’s big day.

Derby manager Clough said: “I thought we started well, the first 10 or 15 minutes was very positive and we could have had a goal in that time but then the double blow of losing Robinson and conceding the goal set us back significantly.

“I think the goal gave them a visible lift, belief as well.

“That and the fact we have got three first choice strikers out so it might have been a good day for them.”

Derby County: Fielding, Brayford, Shackell, O’Brien, Roberts, Cywka (Barker 72), Hendrick (Green 82), Bryson, Ben Davies, Ward, Robinson (Maguire 15). Unused substitutes: Legzdins, Buxton.

Hull City: Gulacsi, Rosenior, Chester, Hobbs, Dudgeon, Stewart (Brady 63), McKenna (Cairney 88), Evans, Koren, Fryatt, Mclean. Unused substitutes: Basso, McShane, Adebola.

Referee: Darren Deadman (Cambs).

Man of the match: Liam Rosenior.