Glenn Roeder was left fuming at the officials after being sent to the stands at half-time in his side's 3-1 defeat at Derby.Roeder was angry after Leroy Lita was given offside on several occasions in the first half and revealed the referee requested he sat in the stands for the second half.

Norwich boss Glenn Roeder believes officials in the Coca-Cola Championship are making “more mistakes than ever” after he was sent to the stands at half-time in his side's 3-1 defeat at Derby.

Roeder was left frustrated after Leroy Lita was given offside on several occasions in the first half and revealed the referee requested he sat in the stands for the second half.

The Canaries boss conceded his side were second best on the night against a Derby side that have now lost just one of their last 10 league matches, but he felt it might have been a different story had the linesman kept his flag down in the first half.

“The referee suggested it might be a good idea to sit the stands, so I took up his invitation,” said Roeder.

When asked if he felt the referee was right to do so, the former Newcastle boss said: “I don't think so, but with the Respect campaign you have to respect what they ask you to do.

“I have to say the referee's assistant in the first half didn't endear himself to me. The manner in which he kept putting his flag up every time we tried to attack, on a few occasions he got it right, but he kept getting it wrong.

“(Jordan) Stewart, who was right in front of his eyes, kept playing Lita on. It was hugely frustrating when you're playing for such high stakes. I don't know why it is, but they're making more mistakes than ever. Everyone has been suffering, its not just us. I have to say more often than not when we do complain we are right.”

All the talk in the build up to the game had been of the allegations of irregular betting patterns involved in the Rams' 2-1 win at Carrow Road earlier this month.

Both clubs have insisted they are more than happy to help the Football Association with their investigation, but it was clearly not an issue that was playing on the minds of the Derby players as they produced what boss Paul Jewell felt was some of their best football of the season.

Goals from summer signing Paul Green and in-form striker Rob Hulse, his fourth in the last five games, gave the Rams a richly deserved two-goal lead at the break.

Norwich looked shell-shocked as they trudged off at half-time, but they fought back in the second half and John Kennedy deservedly pulled a goal back with a towering header 62 minutes in.

Derby were on the back foot and the visitors looked capable of snatching at least a point, but in-form Lita missed a golden opportunity to equalise when he fired wide with only Stephen Bywater to beat.

But Polish midfielder Przemyslaw Kazmierczak ensured there was no tense finale for the home supporters, slotting home his first goal for Derby with 12 minutes remaining.

Jewell was delighted with some of his side's football in the first half, but insisted there is more to come from them.

He said: “For an hour we played as well as we have all season. At 2-0 we were in control and it could have been four or five.

“But they goal a goal back and it was tense for a while.”

He added: “We are making strides, but there is a lot more to come from the players. I've got a three-year contract and I want us to get better each year.

“Promotion is our aim, but we also need stability on and off the pitch. I'm pleased with the progress, but the job is only half done.”