Hughes thrilled by Santa’s presence

MARK HUGHES hailed Roque Santa Cruz as one of the best natural finishers he has ever seen after the Paraguay striker ensured Derby entered the record books as the worst team in Premier League history.

Santa Cruz took his tally for his first season in English football to 23 on Saturday by reacting brilliantly to Morten Gamst Pedersen’s deflected effort in first-half injury time, then nodding home a far-post header in the second period.

Hughes admitted his decision to snap up Santa Cruz in a £3.5m (€4.4m) deal from Bayern Munich had been a gamble with a series of injuries hindering the player during an unexceptional eight-year spell in Germany.

But Santa Cruz — who was awarded the club’s player of the year trophy before kick-off — proved his worth once again and prompted Hughes to insist: “Roque is the best I’ve seen at anticipating things coming off the keeper or the bar.

“He’s always on the front foot and if a striker’s got that it is a sure sign you’ve got a natural finisher at the club. It is not just about Roque’s goals, but also about his tremendous work ethic.

“Roque has had an outstanding first season and has probably surpassed even his own expectations. In truth I always knew he was an exceptionally talented player, but with his past record he may have been seen by many as a risk.

“But I knew if he got run and stayed clear of injuries and got off the mark early, that was going to help him, and Roque has been exceptional for us throughout the season.”

Santa Cruz’s killer instinct wrecked the Rams’ hope of keeping alive their chances of beating Sunderland’s previous record low Premier League total of 15 points, and left manager Paul Jewell still looking for his first win after 25 games in charge.

“It is a deserved tag,” said Jewell of the record low points total. “We haven’t got there because of bad luck. But my only aim now is to bring Derby back as one of the best Championship sides there has ever been and this will be forgotten.

“There has to be a whole culture change. We have to be mentally stronger as well as physically stronger and that’s what we have to do between now and June 27.

“I’ve got to chop and change and whatever I can generate I can put back into the players. But I’m comfortable with the budget and the amount of manoeuvring I can do.”

BLACKBURN (4-4-2): Friedel 6, Reid 6, Samba 5, Nelsen 5, Warnock 6, Bentley 6, Emerton 6, Vogel 5 (Tugay 61, 5), Pedersen 5 (Olsson 79, 5), Santa Cruz 7, Roberts 6 (Derbyshire 79, 5).

Subs Not Used: Brown, Ooijer.

DERBY (4-4-2): Carroll 6, Todd 5, Addison 5, Moore 5, McEveley 6, Mears 6, Savage 6, Ghaly 5 (Sterjovski 66, 5), Lewis 5 (Villa 72, 5), Earnshaw 5, Miller 6.

Subs Not Used: Price, Feilhaber, Beardsley.

REFEREE: Uriah Rennie (South Yorkshire) 6: A typically showy performance although few of his decisions could be quibbled with.

MATCH RATING: *** Rovers eventually woke up after a poor start. Derby just want the season to end - and the sooner the better.