A DERBY win – we could not have asked for a better start for Paul Lambert as manager.

A lot of the times this season we have not had the rub of the green but on Saturday we got that with the opening goal.

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It was lucky, but we’ll take it, and it set us on our way to what was a good result.

What did I think of the performance? It was a bit mixed.

I wouldn’t say we were anything extra special but, at the end of the day, the result was all that mattered.

But I was impressed by the way that we started the game.

We got out of the traps fast and got on the front foot, just like Paul said he wanted us to.

But other than that I wouldn’t say there were any major changes to what we had already seen before.

But, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it’s going to take time for Paul to get the players to do exactly what he wants.

They did give him the fast start he wanted, though.

It’s just I think some of the players began to tire a little bit, and they couldn’t maintain that high intensity that Paul wants to play with.

Some people will take to it and some won’t. Some will think the training is harder and some will think the training is easier.

Some people react better to working under new managers and are happy and some do not and are sad.

That’s the same at any club.

Basically, you’ve got to step up to the plate. And unfortunately, as a footballer, if you don’t adapt to a new manager’s demands, then you won’t be in the team. It’s as simple as that.

That’s the challenge facing our players now and the ones who were given the nod on Saturday will be hoping to get another go after beating Preston.

The win closed the gap on the play-off places to eight points.

That’s still a lot of ground to make up but there have been plenty of teams over the years who have made a late charge.

Yes we’ve not have the best of starts and yes we’ve been up and down but I still see no reason why we cannot challenge for the play-offs.

We just need that consistency and if Paul can bring that consistency, then great, because that’ll mean us climbing the table, instead of taking one step forward then one step back.

It’s early days but with the managerial team that has been put in place, it does feel like it could come together.

But we have to start putting wins together, starting with the visit of Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.