Liam Rosenior admits Derby ‘need’ Ravel Morrison to keep delivering

Posted Sunday, March 06, 2022 by PA

Derby assistant manager Liam Rosenior believes Ravel Morrison could be key in the club’s fight for Sky Bet Championship survival.

Morrison scored his first league goals in England for nearly eight years to give the Rams a 2-0 victory over fellow relegation strugglers Barnsley.

Rosenior described Morrison as “absolutely outstanding” and knows how important he could be in the next two months.

Rosenior said: “Ravel has always had the ability but his work-rate, not just in this game but the last three that he’s started, sums up what this team is about, they don’t give up, they fight to the end.

“Obviously Wayne knew Ravel from when he was a young player at Manchester United and when you see him every day in training, his ability is outstanding.

“He’s affecting the game exactly where we want him to, which is in the final third and we’ve worked really hard, showing him clips, having meetings with him to prepare him for this and I think it’s a great stage for him now.

“He’s really enjoying it, we demand commitment, we demand work-rate and I’m not saying he’s never given us that but, in terms of his energy and pressing today, that makes you just as happy as the moments of quality he brings and he was absolutely outstanding.

“As you get older as a player you understand the game better and we are going to need him and his quality for the rest of the season.”

Derby started strongly and it was no surprise when they went ahead in the 22nd minute with Tom Lawrence playing in Luke Plange, who set up Morrison for his first league goal since April 2014.

Carlton Morris had a chance to level four minutes later but could not beat Ryan Allsop at his near post, and that proved to be Barnsley’s best moment in the game.

Morrison struck the top of the bar in the 32nd minute with a shot from the edge of the box and gave Derby a two-goal cushion two minutes into the second half.

Callum Brittain allowed the ball to slip under his foot and Lawrence went through to rattle the bar with Morrison driving in the rebound.

Another Barnsley error, this time by Mads Andersen, gave Malcolm Ebiowei a chance which he curled just wide and, although Morris had a free-kick pushed over by Allsop, the visitors never looked like getting back in it.

Barnsley manager Poya Asbaghi admitted: “It’s a big disappointment for us, we knew the importance of this game and over 90 minutes we have to play better than we did today.

“Derby started the game better than us but our reaction after the first goal was pretty decent and we got into the game more and more in that half and we felt confident of doing better in the second.

“But then we lose the ball in a vulnerable position and they score a second and that’s mentally really tough in this arena and put us in a situation that in the end was too difficult to overcome.

“Overall what needs to improve is the ability to move the ball even faster. Our decision-making and winning second balls has been much better than we showed today.”