Defeat was a kick in the teeth for Derby boss Clough

The Rams were happy to sit deep after Luke Moore’s 19th-minute opener, but Clough reveled afterwards that wasn’t the gameplan to take on Burnley - more a by-product of the absence of Kris Commons and early departure of Alberto Bueno: “When you concede two goals in the last 10 minutes, it is inevitable that disappointment is going to be the feeling in the dressing room.

“But you can only defend for so long, you cannot just defend for 70 or 80 minutes, it is too long, but we thought we had weathered the worst of it in the second half and then we gave a silly free kick away and we were punished for it.”

Former Derby man Tyrone Mears equalised from that free kick, after Dean Moxey brought down Dean Marney, before Jack Cork’s late winner, and Clough disputed the award: “Dean said he didn’t touch him but we’ll have a look at it and see.

“If he didn’t, then referees have to be absolutely certain when they are giving free kicks three or four yards outside the box.

“But I thought we kept our shape and made it difficult for Burnley.

“I don’t think they created too many clear-cut chances for the amount of possession they had.

“They struggled to break us down and that is why we should not give free kicks away.

“I know it wasn’t one but don’t even give the referee the chance to give the free kick.

“I thought we looked OK defensively for the majority of the game.

“There was lots of hard work out there but we did not keep the ball well enough, which was disappointing, and it allowed them to keep knocking on the door.

“Nor did we threaten to get the second goal, which is unlike us.

“We don’t set out to play like that, we don’t set out to score and just shut up shop.

“We conceded too much ground and too much possession.

“We are close to grinding out results away from home, we are not a million miles off, but we need to balance grinding results out with playing our game as well.

“It would have been nice just to get a point.

“We probably didn’t deserve to win the game but I think a draw for the way we defended and worked would have been fair.

“Once the first goal goes in you always fear after that.”