Paul Jewell was quick to praise the supporters at a packed and atmospheric Pride Park Stadium after the 1-0 defeat against Manchester United, telling 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 starrted well."

Of the overall performance, the Derby boss said: "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 it's better coming in on Monday morning knowing that a bit of pride has been restored."

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