Paul Warne held up Ipswich as “the blueprint” for what he is trying to achieve at Derby after they became the latest victim of the Suffolk side’s success.
Derby’s head coach hailed Ipswich as the best in League One as goals from Conor Chaplin and George Hirst made it seven straight wins for the visitors who took maximum points home following a 2-0 victory.
Warne said: “The big clubs don’t like losing and it’s difficult to turn up week-on-week and win game, win game.
“I think we are getting the best out of our players currently but we don’t have the strength in depth possibly of an Ipswich.
“Fair play to them, they still have to turn up every week, still have to perform, they are highly motivated and very well organised and they are the blueprint, I think they are the best team we’ve played.”
The home side were just starting to grow into the game when they were hit by a classic counter-attack in the 17th minute.
Christian Walton’s throw released Nathan Broadhead who crossed for Wes Burns to head down the ball and Chaplin fired in his 20th of the season in all competitions.
Ipswich had not conceded in seven games but that record should have ended when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing crossed to the back post but David McGoldrick headed into the side netting.
Derby thought they had equalised in the 49th minute only for the referee to rule out Eiran Cashin’s header from a corner for a foul on Walton.
That was as close as Derby came as Ipswich burst forward in the 76th minute and – after Burns was denied by Joe Wildsmith – Hirst drove in the rebound.
Derby have now lost three games in a row and Warne said: “As harsh as this sounds, they were just a little bit quicker and stronger than us and they exposed us a few times on the counter.
“I was pleased with how we performed and if we had played virtually anyone else but Ipswich at home today I think we would have had enough but unfortunately, we played the best team in the league.
“The expectation at their football club is the same as the expectation here and a defeat at Ipswich is like doom and gloom, like it is at Sheffield Wednesday, like it is at Derby.”
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna hailed his side’s “great spirit and organisation”, saying: “It was a really good performance in a tough game as we knew it would be against a strong team.
“I thought it was a performance that had a bit of everything, we came out on the front foot and were brave, dominated the early stages and you know after the goal they are going to come back really strong and put pressure on.
“We defended with great spirit and organisation, we counter-attacked really well throughout the game and there was lots to enjoy about the performance.
“The last 25 minutes couldn’t have been much better defensively really, there was hardly a ball into our box, so it was a reflection of the work of the whole team, the way we pressed, the way we defended on shape, the spirit and organisation so I think it was a clean sheet to be proud of today.
“I don’t think honestly you will see many goals better anywhere in terms of counter-attacking goals.
“As a young coach you are looking for examples of best practice and you probably can’t find better examples of a counter-attack goal from defending a set play because it’s textbook.
“It was a terrific goal and one for all the players and the staff to enjoy.”
