Derby County boss Paul Warne was delighted with the way his side saw off Carlisle United’s limited threat to secure promotion.

The Rams claimed their place in the Championship with a 2-0 victory over Paul Simpson’s relegated Blues on the last day of the season.

Other than a spell in the first half, there was little threat to Derby’s path to glory.

And Warne admitted he did not have many headaches in the second half against the Cumbrians.

“I thought, weirdly, we scored the first too early,” he said of Max Bird’s fifth-minute opener.

“The place was bouncing to start with but then [third-placed] Bolton started scoring and it felt like the lads played the occasion a bit and not the game.

“The more we tried to find a simple pass, the harder it seemed to get.

“Carlisle got a bit of a grip of a game with set-pieces, etc, but we defended well.

“I think our best performances have come when we've played on the edge. In the end it felt handsome because I didn't feel under any threat in the second-half.”

James Collins pounced on the hour mark to add to Bird’s opener, and Derby kept United at bay with some steady defending.

News and Star: James Collins fires Derby's second goalJames Collins fires Derby's second goal (Image: Richard Parkes)

Their promotion in second place in League One was marked by huge scenes of celebration, a mass pitch invasion greeting the end of the game.

Derby just needed a point to be sure of promotion and Warne was glad to get over the line with few jitters.

“I'm relieved, I think it's fair to say,” he said, speaking via Rams TV.

“We put ourselves in a really good position going into the day and you go to bed last night thinking "dare I dream", but the fact we got there…it's relief, really, and pride.

“I credit the lads for their character because it's that that wins games at times.

"We fell short last year and we wanted to win the title this year. We didn't but we tried to get an average of two points per game which we did.”