After somewhat patchy performances on the road at Reading and Middlesbrough, Derby County looked forward to successive home games in which they aimed to re-assert their top-six credentials.

Though they have had a good start to their 2011-12 campaign, the Rams stood just two points better off than last season. The ‘purple patch’ in autumn 2010 had rocketed Derby towards the top six; this year Derby have been among the contenders all season but were falling off the pace.

Derby fans are becoming more vocal about a lack of depth in the squad, with injuries stretching Clough’s choices. Positions that the manager has spoken about for months - in defence, midfield and attack - are still not being reinforced despite words from the club suggesting that money would be available for recruits. The loan market has not been taken advantage of at all.

The lingering injury list and lack of cover remain large concerns. It appeared that Derby had contrived to be completely bereft of match-fit centre-halves during the week, as Jason Shackell and Mark O’Brien, carrying knocks from the defeat at Middlesbrough, did not train until Friday.

There really has been quite an injury history at Derby in recent times. Russell Anderson was also nursing an injury; Barker, Buxton, Riggott and of course Leacock were all still under treatment or rehab. Add a further half-dozen injury cases among midfield and forward line and no wonder it’s a worry.

Rivals Leicester City continues to employ a revolving-door management policy whilst giving every management recruit a seemingly limitless budget at the King Power Stadium. Eriksson spent £20m in a year, the Foxes remain outside the top six and now the Swede is gone after just 13 months in charge, keeping up his current average of around one new contract every year.

There’s been instability too at Nothingham Forest, despite considerable expenditure from their last two managers. Billy was never happy under any fiscal control and McLaren ghosted straight in and out of the City Ground like one of Alfred’s fleeting cameos in the Hitchcock movies. So, two ex-England managers, expected to take their clubs into leading positions this season, have been dumped already!

We’re not seeing such headlines at Pride Park Stadium and now the Rams’ manager has the comfort of a new long-term contract, further tangible backing from the owners is being called for. If Derby again fails to capitalise on the early-season momentum, fans will certainly feel aggrieved. A prolonged downturn after waiting so long for signs of progress would stretch their patience again.

The Championship is (as ever) extremely tight - a couple of wins or defeats will move you half a dozen places up or down the table. Brighton lost to West Ham on Monday night and so failed to leap from 12th into the top six to displace the Rams.

DirtyLeeds, who overtook the Rams last weekend, played at Birmingham City on Wednesday evening but it was the Bluenoses that increased the pressure on the top six with a 1-0 victory. Brum stood in 8th place just a point behind the Rams with two games in hand and a superior goal difference.

Last weekend’s headline-maker, 15-year old striker Mason Bennett, is already reportedly attracting the attention of Premier League clubs including Liverpool and Manchester United.

The England schoolboy international is on contract to Derby until he’s 20 but the offer of a big fee for him might tempt the owners to take the money. Fans will want certainly want to see Bennett’s value realised if that occurs and the money received re-invested in the squad.

The Rams hoped to record a much-needed win in the home game against Portsmouth on Saturday. Derby, though still in the top six of the Championship, had dropped to third-bottom of the current ‘form table’ and had failed to win any of their past five matches. They stood six places and three points better off than at the same stage last season, when a burst of form took the club all too briefly into the promotion-chasing pack.

Supporters did not want to see a parallel decline in 2011-12 - and hoped that the team could regain control of its own course and finally steer a clear route to the Premier League.

Despite recently losing manager Steve Cotterill to Nothingham Forest, Pompey’s form has picked up under the temporary management of Guy Whittingham and Stuart Gray. Since Cotterill left, Portsmouth lost 0-1 to Ipswich but had beaten Doncaster Rovers and Barnsley; this week they secured the loan of Manchester City’s young Ivory Coast forward, Abdul Razak who went straight into the squad to face Derby.

Portsmouth therefore sailed into the Derby dock in fair condition and hoped to embark upon an increasingly comfortable Championship mission, as the Fratton Park admirals scoured the horizon for Cotterill’s successor - though their travel sickness so far in 2011-12 has proved an Achilles heel. The Rams hoped to rock their boat and halt the rising tide of a Portsmouth renaissance.

Mason Bennett retained his place in the squad but Chris Maguire was rewarded for his improved effort in the game at Middlesbrough with a League debut in place of the youngster; makeshift full-back Russell Anderson returned to the right flank after injury. Clough’s centre-half crisis had eased, with Shackell and O’Brien being passed fit and Jake Buxton able to take a place on the substitute’s bench.

The lads showed again that there is a little more substance and resolve about them this year - and a competent, sometimes exciting performance secured the points with a fair margin of comfort.

Managerless Pompey, though seemingly being competently steered by Whittingham and Gray at the helm until a new Bosun is appointed, immediately had their bow badly holed by an instant Rams’ attack! The visitors visibly keeled under wave after wave of sprightly Derby attacks.

Derby quickly scuppered a ponderous Pompey defence and a less-than-watertight midfield and it soon became clear that the Rams were winning all the important battles. The bombardment possessed variety and was delivered at a rapid rate of knots; a whirlwind start saw Bryson sweep the ball in after only two minutes.

After the first hit, the Pompey vessel was listing badly and was then effectively sunk in a half-hour blitz, as the Derby cannons took their toll.

Derby’s work-rate and pace was too much for the nautical no-hopers as the Rams raced into a 3-0 lead within 33 minutes.

It may have been different had Halford’s early header gone in and not struck the Derby bar - but that isolated threat did not take the wind out of Derby’s sails and it had become virtually one-way traffic from the get-go. Pompey ‘keeper Henderson had his work cut out and had to save his crew from going under on several occasions as the first period progressed.

However, the busy keeper was powerless to halt Derby’s progress as Chris Maguire opened his League account. The Scottish debutant reacted first to Henderson’s save from Theo Robinson’s effort; 2-0 in 13 minutes and Pompey’s deficit would now require a titanic effort to retrieve.

Derby moved the ball around swiftly, attractively and accurately and Pompey showed marked signs of seasickness. It was no surprise when Derby increased their lead, an exquisite pass from the impressive Jeff Hendrick releasing Jamie Ward, who calmly struck the ball home from the edge of the area to put Derby in charge.

Despite losing Mark O’Brien to a shoulder injury for Kilbane (in his 600th appearance) to deputise alongside Shackell, Derby kept their shape and discipline. They had put themselves firmly back on the winning trail and Pompey proved a poor second best.

Pompey could not have argued had Derby scored 4 or 5 before the break - there were several other close shaves as the Rams peppered the Pompey goal. The South Coast side improved after the interval - it would have been difficult for them to get much worse.

After Derby’s first-half tempest, Pompey did create chances but Derby would not relinquish their grip on the points. All the Rams players had executed their orders to the letter to secure a resounding victory.

Ex-Ram Luke Varney did his running around act in best Cabin Boy tradition, collecting a booking but no goals. As in his time at Pride Park Stadium, he again flattered to deceive but at least we took a decent fee for him when he was finally released from his somewhat inconsequential period at Derby County. Along with his Pompey crew, he scuttled forlornly back to the South Coast docks empty-handed as the Rams took the bounty.

The visitors reduced the arrears through Jason Pearce as Derby’s defence went to sleep from a corner after 70 minutes. There was to be no comprehensive Pompey revival as the visitors wasted some late chances. There’s no denying that Derby were also profligate over the 90 minutes, and they should have won by a bigger margin.

Though Derby had further opportunities in the second half they were not as accurate and incisive as in the first period; Pompey defended better and they were less wasteful in possession. But for a moment of slackness in defence, Derby retained their grip even if Pompey (no doubt with a half-time rocket from their caretaker coaches ringing in their ears) enjoyed a bigger share of the game.

The Rams ended the game with surely one of the youngest strike-forces fielded by the club. Substitute Mason Bennett became the Rams’ youngest-ever home debutant to replace the excellent Chris Maguire and Conor Doyle came on for the hardworking Theo Robinson.

It’s a shame that Tomasz Cywka wasn’t selected for bench duty; he may well have enjoyed a run at the ponderous Pompey defenders and become more productive than the rookie American.

Despite pre-game fears that the Rams might - with all their injury problems and entrenched reluctance to reinforce the thin squad whilst in a high League position - continue their slow slide down the table, Derby instead reinforced their top six credentials and moved up to 5th place in the Championship table as one of 4 teams on 24 points.

The top six have now opened up a three-point gap on the chasing back and the Rams could look forward to Wednesday’s home game against Cardiff City to take an opportunity to stay in touch with leaders Southampton and West Ham.

The Bluebirds fought out a 1-1 draw at DirtyLeeds on Sunday, a result which kept both teams just outside the top six - though both are regarded as contenders. If the Rams can put City to flight, it will be a great start to November!

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RamsWeek 44 last season saw Derby put on a fine display to beat a Watford side that had the best away record in the Championship but was ‘crushed by the wheels of industry’. The Rams’ energy and work-rate denied a Watford side made dizzy by Derby’s first-half blitz.

Though the Hornets pulled the game back to 2-1 right after the break Derby scored two more to run out 4-1 winners. John Brayford scored a rare but memorable goal, charging through Watford’s defence to lash a though-ball into the net.

A deflected Cywka goal added to Watford’s woes; Kuqi added a third before Cywka netted a beauty to cap a man-of-the-match performance.

The Rams were 7th in the Championship table and had scored more home goals that any team in the division. Loanee forward Ryan Noble (who?) returned to parent club Sunderland with a back injury but Derby secured West Brom’s Luke Moore on loan for a further month.

With Chris Porter and Steve Davies among the many injury cases, RamsWeek said that the Rams might well struggle when Kuqi and Moore returned to their parent clubs and that more resources were needed to ensure that the Rams could keep up their momentum.

The Rams’ reserves won 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday courtesy of a Conor Doyle goal and a young boy of 14, Mason Bennett, came on as a substitute. There was one to watch for the future!

Photo: Action Images

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