Simeon Jackson rattled in a hat-trick for the Canaries, including a late winner, to see off a dogged Derby side who twice pegged back the hosts with goals from Steve Davies and Alberto Bueno.
Clough said: "There was a lot of frustration out there at the end. To lose a goal in the 96th minute, or whenever it was, was very cruel.
"I am really proud of the players for the effort they put in after playing for half an hour with only 10 men in the heat on Saturday.
"I thought in the first half we did okay without making much of the situations we created and it was a real blow when we conceded late on. But the lads came out in the second half and gave it a real go, just like they did at QPR.
"Despite our position in the table there are a lot of positives to focus on, as you saw again. We are 18 places or so behind Norwich in the table but are we really that much worse than them? I don't think so."
Source: PA
