STEVE McClaren believes Derby County came up against a much-improved Sheffield Wednesday side at Hillsborough.
The Rams continued their unbeaten start to the season in South Yorkshire but had to settle for a point as the sides played out a goalless draw.
Former Derby forward Chris Maguire was denied by the woodwork in the first half, while Johnny Russell had two good chances to win in for the visitors in the closing stages.
"Sheffield Wednesday are a far better team than last season," said Rams head coach McClaren. "I don't think many teams will come here and collect points.
"They're tough opponents and I think, in the first half, we got a taste of it.
"We were on the back foot, we stopped playing football and credit to Sheffield Wednesday, their game plan was good and they put us under pressure.
"They probably felt at half-time, they should have gone at least one goal up.
"We thought we got off the hook but in the second second half, we got more control."
McClaren felt that the longer the game went on, the more Derby looked like winning.
"We toughed it out against a physical team, defended very well, looked hard to beat and we know we just need to improve at the other end," he said.
"We nearly won it. I was pleased with the way we finished the game - the last 20 minutes, we were very strong. I thought we were going to win the game then.
"We had excellent chances and you need to take them."
