[ad_pod ]

Derby County manager Frank Lampard has admitted via The Derby Telegraph that both he and his players dwelt on the crushing 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday post-match, but now he is encouraging them to be positive when they host Wigan Athletic at the Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday night.

What's the word, then?

Well, the Rams' defeat at Villa Park came after Lampard made six changes to his starting XI, but it ended with a fourth defeat on the bounce in all competitions.

They have also failed to find the net in the previous three but despite that, they could go level on points with sixth-placed Bristol City with a win against the Latics to keep them well in the promotion hunt.

Improvement is needed at both ends of the pitch however, and Lampard admitted in an interview, as published by The Derby Telegraph, that he and his players did analyse in their heads thedifficult performance that saw them trail 4-0 at half-time against Dean Smith's men.

The Chelsea legend said: "We dwelt on it (Villa) after the game, I did and the players did.

"I don't think it was one to absolutely analyse in the short turnaround before the Wigan game. I think it is one to know we were below par generally and it is more about confidence and motivation now."

Can they bounce back?

Playing a struggling side at home on paper looks a great opportunity to get back to winning ways, but Paul Cook's visitors won't make life easy for County.

They have drawn their previous four league fixtures to show they are difficult to beat despite their lowly league standing, and the hosts will need to show a lot more than they have done in recent weeks to get the three points.

The loss to Villa may well act as a wake-up call for Lampard and his players however, and it would be no surprise if they did react well on Tuesday and do what they need to do.