'Has to be' - Conor Hourihane makes Derby County admission after Stevenage defeat

Conor Hourihane says Derby County will learn from their defeat to Stevenage but felt it was a good indicator of what they can expect next season.

The Rams were beaten 1-0 at the Lamex Stadium where Elliott List's goal in the first half was enough to secure victory for Steve Evans' side. In a game played in searing temperatures, interim boss Liam Rosenior said he did not expect the performance to be as poor as it was as Derby toiled in the heat.

But it was a useful exercise for Derby given they can expect many games like it next season at grounds where the pitches are small and the grounds are tight. Former Villa midfielder Hourihane, who played the first half of the clash, expects Derby to face similar tests away from home in League One.

"It was disappointing," he said. "We always want to win games. I know I wasn't there for the Bradford game, but that went well. Hertha Berlin went well and Stevenage was a disappointing one.

"But we have to learn from it. We have to realise that it's not always going to go great. We will learn from it, look back and improve. We are probably going to come up against teams in League One that are going to be similar to that (Stevenage) so we've just got to make sure it doesn't happen again really.

"The home games will probably take care of themselves you'd like to think but coming away to grounds like this, teams are going to be in your face on tight pitches. There has to be a real learning curve and that was mentioned in the dressing room. Maybe it came at the right time to realise that it's not going to be easy and there's a lot of work to be done."

Hourihane has featured twice for Derby since arriving on a free transfer after the club's takeover was completed in what was the most