County assistant takes positives from Leeds reverse

STOCKPORT'S assistant boss Peter Ward remains fiercely proud of his young squad despite Saturday's fifth straight game without scoring a goal.
The Hatters went down 1-0 at Elland Road thanks to Jonny Howson's early tap-in, but Ward was determined to remain positive.
He said: "Things are just not going for us in the box at the moment, but there is a great camaraderie among the lads and I am proud of them.
"Our fans applauded the players off the pitch and if we match the passion of those supporters we won't go far wrong.
"We were disappointed with the goal we conceded.
"The keeper (Conrad Logan) was caught in two minds when the ball came across and it came back off him for their player to score."
Ward went on: "I came to the game very angry at the predicament we've been put in.
"We're in a position now where we don't select the team, the team more or less selects itself because we're that thin.
"The young lads who came in were excellent and I hope the fans are proud of that performance because we did give it a right go.
"It's been very difficult, but when you have fans like ours they give you a big lift.
"And when you have young players that come on and perform like they did today that keeps us going."
Meanwhile, Leeds boss Simon Grayson backed ex-Hatters hero Liam Dickinson against a minority of boo-boys who expressed their displeasure with the big striker after he was substituted on his home debut for the Whites.
Grayson said: "It was a bit unfair because the lad put in a really good shift. He worked very hard and kept going. You have to give him a bit of time because he hasn't played much football in the last two or three months.
"It is difficult when a striker comes into the team. Everyone expects him to score straight away like Jermaine Beckford would, but Liam is a different type of player to Jermaine.
"I am more than pleased with what we have got out of him and what we can expect him to contribute between now and the end of the season."