"It's hard to watch" - Claim made on Paul Warne trait at Derby County | OneFootball

The Rams have started the season well, and are currently 12th in the Championship.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Derby County's Championship return has gone well so far, and while they were written off before a ball had been kicked, they have shown that they are more than capable of competing in the division.

The Rams currently sit 12th in the table after 15 games, racking up excellent wins against the likes of Bristol City, Coventry City and Middlesbrough in the opening three months of the campaign.

They are currently on a run of one defeat in six since the last international break, however, they have won just once as well, racking up four 1-1 draws across October and the start of November. But, Paul Warne will not be overly concerned as his side do look difficult to beat.

Nevertheless, there will be some who are critical of his style of play, especially after Derby supporters have been used to more progressive, fast-flowing football at Pride Park in the Championship in the past.

Verdict made on Warne's style

A criticism of Rotherham United in the Championship under Warne was that they did not try to make an attempt at winning games too often, and looked to mostly catch their opponents on the break to score their goals.

A section of the Rams support may feel the same, but so far, it is a plan that has had a level of success.

Shaun Woodward, Football League World's Derby Fan Pundit, was asked for his opinion on the 51-year-old's style of football, and if he enjoys watching it.

"No, I'm not a fan of the playing style," he started. "I find it quite boring. It's hard to watch. Even last season when we got promoted, it was a difficult watch at times.

"We were very, very hard to beat and we quite often get a 1-0 lead and would hold on to it rather than going to get the second and third and kill off the games. But that's Paul Warne’s style and it's effective in League One.

"I'd rather us grind through and get promoted than look pretty on the eye and flatter to deceive. We've had lots of different styles over the years and not many of them have ever been successful. Steve McClaren's time at Derby was pretty football, great style and attacking similar to Frank Lampard, but neither of those got us promoted, albeit that was in the Championship into the Premier League."

Shaun continued: "Warne did get us up from League One, which was what he was assigned to do so it's not pretty, but it's effective. Whether it will work in the Championship, it remains to be seen. But, so far, it's been okay.

"There have been glimpses of actually some progression in our style. We have looked good at times, but it's still not fluent. I think, naturally, Warne is quite a defensive manager, he wants us to be hard to beat, he wants to get some big brutes at the back, be physical, with set pieces, try and nick a goal from a corner or a free kick and hold on to it.

"That's his style of play, fair play to him, it's been successful for most of the time he's been at Derby and when he was at Rotherham, but it's not great to watch, but I'd rather us be ugly and win."

Warne's football is effective despite criticism

Although there are some downfalls of the way that Warne sets up his team, it has proven effective once again for Derby this season, and they tend to make the most of what little they see of the ball.

According to FotMob, the Rams rank 23rd in the league for average possession with just 42.5%, but they are excellent at winning the ball back.

The East Midlands club make the second-most interceptions per match with 10.9, and also rank in the top five for tackles completed with 11.3.

Derby's football is all about catching teams on the break, and making the most of the limited opportunities that they have. That has been evident this season, with the Rams scoring 19 goals from an xG rate of only 14.

They also have the fourth-highest conversion rate in the Championship this season, scoring from 11.7% of their shots.

There is a lot to be excited about at Pride Park at the moment, and although the football is perhaps not always easy on the eye, it does allow Derby the chance to pick up points on a regular basis and that will keep them in the division.