Derby caretaker coach Matt Hamshaw admitted he was “disappointed and frustrated” after a goalless draw with Oxford.
In what was likely to be Hamshaw’s last game in temporary charge, with John Eustace expected to be appointed as head coach, Derby earned a second consecutive draw but lacked the quality to end a nine-match winless run in the Championship.
The talk surrounding the anticipated appointment of Eustace as Derby’s new head coach overshadowed a game which offered few moments of excitement on a cold, murky night.
Hamshaw said: “I’m disappointed, frustrated. I probably feel a little bit like the fans did, that it was a bit passive, a bit one-paced and we didn’t take enough risks.
“And when we did take risks, the ball went everywhere. I don’t want to be too downbeat because we’ve got a point and a clean sheet bit I expect much better really.
“I didn’t think either team was a threat tonight, I thought both defensively were set up soundly and, although I don’t want to make this sound like an excuse, I didn’t think the pitch allowed us to move the ball quick enough to get Oxford out of tilt.
“Tonight we are a little bit disappointed but come the end of the season that point might be enough to take us a bit higher.”
Siriki Dembele brought a smart save from Derby goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom before Nathaniel Mendez-Laing had a drive from the edge of the area which was comfortably saved by Jamie Cumming.
Lars-Jorgen Salvesen tried to conjure something special in the 59th minute with a scissor-kick which bounced off the turf and into the gloves of Cumming.
Salvesen made better contact with a header from a corner which forced Cumming into a diving save but that was as close as either side came to breaking the stalemate.
Oxford head coach and former Derby manager Gary Rowett said: “It was a difficult game, we knew it would be and it was a game that lacked quality.
“As the away team for about the first 20 minutes I felt we had a little bit of control and in the last 20 minutes I thought we were the most likely to nick something and in the middle part of the game Derby had more of it.
“I thought we got embroiled into a bit of a scrap so I was disappointed from our perspective, because we’ve shown a level of quality and today we didn’t quite do that but you also have to respect the division and teams are fighting for their lives so it’s never easy to win a game.”
