Derby boss Paul Jewell saluted Rob Hulse after the striker netted a late winner against Watford.
Rams boss relieved; Rodgers disappointed
Derby County boss Paul Jewell saluted Rob Hulse after the striker netted a late winner against Watford.
Hulse's 83rd minute effort secured the Rams' first Championship victory in seven attempts.
Jewell praised Hulse, who had been struggling with flu this week, and has urged his charges to build on the three points.
He said: "Rob was ill this week and he has lost a lot of weight and only had his first training session on Wednesday.
"He is a terrific pro and I feel he is still finding his feet after a year out of the game (because of injury).
"This was his seventh goal for us this season and I think that's a decent return.
"I think we deserved to win the game. We created some decent opportunities and we kept a clean sheet in front of our fans so I think it was a deserved victory.
Barazite
"After the run we have been on it's a relief for any manager, player or supporter to get a win and now we've got to try to build on it.
"We had nearly 28,000 people here which is a magnificent turnout just before Christmas so they've gone home happy."
On-loan Arsenal midfielder Nacer Barazite also played his part when the Dutchman came off the bench to assist Hulse.
And Jewell admits he would like to keep Barazite at Pride Park beyond his current stint, which is due to expire next month.
He said: "We would like to keep him until the end of the season but I'm not sure at the moment. We have spoken a couple of times to Arsenal so we'll just have to wait and see."
Rodgers reaction
For Watford, the defeat came after new manager Brendan Rodgers had put pen-to-paper on his contract on Saturday morning.
Rodgers said: "Maybe if I hadn't signed it we might have won!
"We were not at our best today, we didn't start great and it's always difficult when you don't start again particularly well.
"I thought we were a little better in the second half and we had a spell of 10 or 15 minutes when it looked as though we could get something, so we're disappointed not to get a point and we're disappointed with the goal which came from our throw-in."
