Allardyce: international duty caused Rams defeat

NEWCASTLE manager Sam Allardyce believes his Newcastle side were reeling from the effects of a wearying international week when they lost to Derby on Monday night — but admits he used to take advantage of similar situations at Bolton.

The Magpies boss saw the majority of his first team squad link up with their national teams during the past fortnight and they put in a noticeably jaded performance against a team who battled hard for every ball and scored the only goal of the game through Kenny Miller.

Miller, who missed Scotland’s famous 1-0 win over France as he worked his way back from a hamstring strain, was one Derby player who did not have international commitments and his performance was comfortably better than Newcastle’s Michael Owen.