Valerien Ismael believes Blackburn Rovers 'wanted it too much' and froze after losing the game in the first seven minutes against Derby County.
The visitors made a horror start at Pride Park and found themselves 2-0 down inside ten minutes. Craig Forsyth opened the scoring after a free-kick wasn't dealt with and another cross into the box caused the second, tapped in by Ebou Adams.
Rovers were second-best across the pitch and lost too many duels in the first 20 minutes. Though they got themselves back into it through Makhtar Gueye, they didn't work the goalkeeper enough in the second half and can't complain at leaving empty-handed.
Ismael agreed that the terrible start was costly and insisted that the players were well briefed on the challenges Derby would pose.
RATINGS: FOUR 4/10S AFTER TERRIBLE START AT DERBY PROVES COSTLY
"I think that the players are really disappointed about the result, they wanted more, maybe too much," Ismael said.
"We lost the game in the first seven minutes, I think it's obvious. We were not prepared, we knew exactly what we will face.
"Everything was set and I think that the first seven minutes were very difficult to manage. And we had an injury, so after that we changed the shape, it was much better, we have more control. We created great chances with Yuki to come back into the game earlier with the goal from Pape.
"He gave us that momentum for the second half. But the second half, we were under control, it's clear. But we played the game to waste time, just to slow down the process, which is normal.
"But we were not very dangerous, we expected more crosses, more penetration, more shots on target. So it's something we need to work on and we need to learn from that game and to do it better next time
"They were both messy goals. We could have avoided those goals, we were twice on the ball but we didn't win the duels in the second ball. Yes, so as I say, it's a long process for the player as well.
"If you want to fight, to compete for something, then you have to be ready from the first to the last minute."
When asked to expand on his theory about the players being overly-stimulated, he added: "When you want something too much sometimes you cramp, you are not free like normal.
"It's not easy on the pitch to have that freedom you had at the beginning. The feeling was really there, they were really focused, the warm-up was great.
"But when you start the game like that, sometimes maybe you want too much, just focus on simple things. But it's a normal process. Just say to them, we have to learn, just be focused on the process.
"Now we have to learn from the first minute to the last minute. We have to be focused on the game, what we have to do to face a strategy from the opponent. Today we were not surprised, we knew exactly what we would face.
"I don't know (it that was because of Eustace), you have to ask the player. It was just a feeling on the pitch because the preparation was good."
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