- Defeat at Shrewsbury Town ended Derby County’s seven-match unbeaten run
- Fans were angry at the end and it was up to Conor Hourihane to face them
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast “It’s all coming!”
Derby County captain Conor Hourihane confronted angry supporters as tensions worsened following the defeat at Shrewsbury Town.
A 1–0 defeat, courtesy of an Hourihane own goal, ended the Rams’ seven-match unbeaten run and left them 11th in League One.
Fans were furious with manager Paul Warne’s tactics and some took out their frustrations on players, including Hourihane.
In a video shared on X, the Irish midfielder can be seen confronting a fan after the final whistle.
“Is it all for me?” Hourihane asked. ‘I do my best, we do our best!’
Conor Hourihane pleaded with supporters after Derby were beaten 1-0 at Shrewsbury Town
Hourihane, wearing the captain’s armband, assured fans that the team is ‘doing their best’
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The video quickly went viral and was viewed more than 700,000 times on the social media platform.
Many were quick to praise Hourihane for leading the way, but suggested it should have been Warne who addressed fans’ grievances.
‘They are no more frustrated than I am. This is my life,” said Warne, when asked about the fans’ frustrations at the end.
“I can understand why they’re frustrated because they’ve seen their team play and they’ve done everything they can to win, but they haven’t won.”
Pressure is mounting on boss Paul Warne as Derby County have fallen to 11th place in League One
It had not escaped the notice of Hourihane’s teammates that the atmosphere among the supporters is turning sour in the run-up to Tuesday’s home match against Exeter City.
“We fully understand why there were grievances in the end. But I would just ask them to stay with us and stay positive,” goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith said, according to Derbyshire Live.
‘We work very hard every day and we don’t take that lightly.’
Derby have won just five of their first twelve league matches and are thirteen points behind leaders Portsmouth.