Derby head coach Paul Warne admitted his team are some way off becoming a “top three” side despite their 1-0 win over Fleetwood.
Warne celebrated a home victory for the first time this season but Fleetwood made them sweat after Martyn Waghorn scored for the second game running.
Waghorn pounced in the 23rd minute after Conor Washington’s shot was deflected into his path and that proved the difference between the teams.
Fleetwood had chances, with Jayden Stockley heading against a post at the end of the first half before substitute Promise Omochere was denied by Joe Wildsmith in the 72nd minute.
Wildsmith made another good save from Junior Quitirna before Derby were able to celebrate at the final whistle.
Warne said: “It wasn’t our best performance and I‘m not even sure it was our best performance of the season but there are different ways to win and if ever there was a game to sum League One up it was probably today.
“In League One if you go 1-0 up and don’t get the second goal every single team you play is going to cross the ball and cause problems. We will play a lot better and lose so it’s just nice to get the win.
“I think everyone is giving their all, I’m not criticising it but it’s not a top-three team, that is my honest truth, you can’t ask players to play 46 games flat out, it’s not possible.
“They need help and we need to get bodies in with a bit of pace to make us a better team.”
Warne revealed he will be without three players, including key midfielder Max Bird, for up to eight weeks due to injuries.
“We’ve lost two right wing-backs and we’ve only got three wing-backs in the building and we’ve lost potentially our best player in the middle of the park so it is a massive blow but sometimes out of adversity comes something, the lads dug in and I’d like to dedicate the win to Birdy because I feel for him.”
Fleetwood head coach Scott Brown said: “We controlled the game for long periods but we switch off for that one second yet again and we’re not ruthless enough in the final third.
“You can’t ever fault the lads effort or the performance but it’s that final third which is killing us at the moment. We lose one goal and we don’t really look like we are going to score.
“I’m happy with performance levels and happy with the work rate but just not happy with that little bit of quality in the final third and we just need that little bit of luck.”
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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