I have to admit we did not perform very well against Derby. Still, at the end we managed to get the 3 points which is what I would be more interested right now if I was a fan. It is not possible to always perform well. Sometimes you play better than your average, sometimes you play worse. We were lucky in a sense that although the team did not play very well we won the game.

We were even more lucky that Shay Given was excellent and made absolutely no mistakes through out the game. It was not only the penalty he saved, but our confidence that we could win the game as well. As far as the penalty is concerned O'Brien was very unlucky, as he did not have any intention to foul Ravanelli, within the box. This things happen in football. It was just an unlucky moment.

Getting the 3 points brought us at the top of the table. I am really happy to see our hard work finally paying off. The 3-4 games, home and away, are of tremendous importance as we are not playing with any of the regarded as "difficult teams to play against". Still we need to face each game as a separate challenge and do our best.

As far as the Worthington Cup is concerned and the game against Ipswich tomorrow, I had a word with Bobby Robson this morning and he told me that I may not play in order to give me sometime to rest. I had to play 2 extra games this month, due my international duties. It may actually be a good idea as I have not still fully recovered from a minor ankle injury I got during the Fulham game.

Nikos Dabizas