Jewell sees improvement
24 Dec 2007 - 09:07:08
Derby County manager Paul Jewell believes his side can still avoid relegation despite conceding a late equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United.
The Rams remain well adrift at the foot of the table after seeing Mark Viduka cancel out their lead with just two minutes of Sunday's clash at St James' Park remaining.
But Jewell is refusing to give up on the Rams' hopes of retaining their top-flight status despite the first half of the season yielding just one victory.
"It's always disappointing when you lose a goal so late, particularly such a poor goal as well," he said.
"I'm a realist, we've still got an awful lot to do.
"To score two goals away from home for us is an improvement. We've got to stop leaking bad goals like we did today.
"I'm seeing encouraging signs, but know there is an awful lot of work for us yet.
"We passed the ball well at times and showed we can play, we scored two good goals and three or four times when we broke perhaps we might have scored more with a better final ball.
"But it has to be said that the players' determination was different-class and they showed great commitment to the cause."