Exeter boss Gary Caldwell wants to see more aggression from his struggling side

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell wants his players to show more aggression after they were beaten 2-0 at Derby.

Caldwell saw his team lose for the sixth league game in a row as the Rams closed in on the play-off places.

Derby dominated for much of the match, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Max Bird orchestrating wave after wave of attacks.

Bird provided the pass that Mendez-Laing converted in the 30th minute and Derby should have had more to show for their dominance.

Exeter rarely threatened but the Rams had to wait until the 79th minute for the goal that sealed only a second home league win. Substitute Conor Washington cut in from the left before driving a low shot inside the near post.

Caldwell said: “We came with a game plan to be more aggressive than we were, it took us 15 minutes to get to grips with them and then during our best period we conceded a goal.

“The longer we kept it at 0-0 it could have helped us but we shoot ourselves in the foot again in a period when we are dominating and getting corners and keeping territory in their half.

“It’s a difficult moment, we all have to stick together, be better and look at ourselves in the mirror and come back ready to go again.

“I thought we lost too many duels and we have to make better decisions in the final third.

“We have to be more aggressive in the final third, I thought too many times when the ball came up there wasn’t enough aggression to hold it up, there wasn’t enough aggression to get at your man and that has to be addressed.”

Derby assistant head coach Richie Barker said: “I thought the performance was excellent, we were more than deserving of the win which probably should have been more convincing.

“But a good home win and a good clean sheet again, they never really troubled our goal to be honest so pleased for the back four and the goalkeeper, but I thought the lads were excellent and executed everything we asked of them.

“We’ve been working on certain runs from midfield over the last few weeks and I thought Max Bird was excellent.

“Without taking Nat’s (Mendez-Laing) thunder tonight, Birdy has probably been the most consistent player since he came back in the team and I was delighted he made the run we’ve been talking about.

“We won’t get carried away tonight and we didn’t get carried away on Saturday, so our job is to keep the players level-headed. They will definitely not be encouraged to go away and think we’ve cracked it tonight.”