Derby County had a full week to focus on an important home game on Saturday at home to Sheffield United.

Derby’s dreadful winless run continued to provoke media rumours suggesting manager Paul Jewell would soon be on his way out of the club, including a story that Ex-West Ham boss Alan Curbishley would replace him. Certainly, the poor start makes September a more critical month in Derby’s season - manager and players needed to deliver something tangible from all of Jewell’s squad changes.

Arsenal loanee had Nacer Baracite scored twice for Holland’s Under-19 side against Scotland as international duty affected the Rams’ preparations, with several other Rams’ players away with their countries for a second week.

There were mixed fortunes for the Rams involved; Kris Commons had a disappointing Scotland full debut, the Scots being beaten 1-0 by mighty Macedonia but then enjoyed their 2-1 win over Iceland in Reykjavik; Andrejs Pereplotkins played for Latvia, who having defeated Moldova 2-1 last week, but they suffered a 2-0 home defeat by Greece.

Mile Sterjovski with Australia in Uzbekistan having participated in Australia’s shock 2-1 win over Holland. Goalkeeper Lewis Price was again unused by Wales as they lost 2-1 in Russia.

Derby finally completed the signing of 19-year old Serbian striker Aleksandar Prijovic from Parma. He signed several weeks ago and has been training with the Rams, but the compensation issue with Parma has now been settled and his international clearance has been granted.

He’s 6’ 2” tall and an Under-19 international; he declined a new deal with Parma and is on an initial 2-year deal at Derby. As soon as his move to Derby looked near completion, we learned that the Swiss-born player had to report to for a mandatory 48-hour stint with the Swiss Army.

Another bit-part player hanging over from Billy Davies’ ragbag collection, 33-year old full back Mo Camara, is remaining with Blackpool after his initial one-month loan was extended. Let’s hope the Seasiders, or Olympic Marseille, take a permanent shine to him. Speaking of which, wandering star full back Tyrone Mears was not selected for Marseille’s upcoming Champion’s League Group squad - and he wasn’t included in the team or on the bench for OM’s away 1-1 draw at Bordeaux at the weekend.

Derby County Ladies (who probably have much better full backs in their ranks than Tyrone!) have now become a community partner of Derby County FC, and this will thus strengthen the links and support network to the ladies team and women’s football throughout the region.

The build-up to the Sheffield United game conveyed the hopes as well as the tensions in the camp at Derby County. Manager Paul Jewell was acutely sensitive about Derby’s dire record under his management and the looming, embarrassing anniversary since the Rams’ last home win as the poorest team in the League.

“It’s a new team and a new season, I’ve got a decent record and the new players have too,” was his rallying cry. The spotlight was certainly on his new squad with the expectancy that they will deliver the goods sooner rather than later. TV cameras for the live game made it all the more important that the Rams put on a proper home display for once.

The example of an embattled England squad coming through to a great and unexpected triumph in Zagreb to end Croatia’s impressive unbeaten run - which was just as long as Derby’s terrible winless run - was been used in the media; how Derby needed a big performance! English pride and joy at an emphatic victory had breathed relief into a rain-soaked nation and all we wanted now was a Rams recovery!

Supporters don’t want highly-paid and luxuriously trained footballers to produce embarrassing records for their clubs or feel frightened to turn out in front of tens of thousands of their loyal supporters - they just want the team to perform as they can to bring success and results to the club. The rest really is just spin.

Manager and players feeling that they are being tarred with last season’s failure isn’t acceptable as they are almost all new recruits. Jewell and board said so often that the mentality would change and the team would hit the ground running. It hasn’t happened and the fighting talk was replaced by repetitive calls for patience and declarations that it will take time to recover from last season.

Being beaten by similarly inexperienced teams who are also under new regimes betrayed a quite opposite atmosphere. The failure of such as Savage to deliver, the loss of Stubbs and the disgraceful antics of Tyrone Mears have been severe blows. The initial weakness of the Rams’ defence, an underpowered midfield and an absence of League goals from the forwards have given the season a totally flat start.

Humiliations and negative press piled on top of each other for a year as Rams fans were almost getting sick of being Rams fans! It has been the severest test of faith of any set of fans.

The winless period read: P 36 W0 D8 L28 F17 A79.  362 days of living misery for club and fans.

Having to wait until the 5:20 pm TV kick-off served to increase the tension as the afternoon results unfolded - ex-Rams Arturo Lupoli, Jon Stead, Rob Earnshaw and even Steve Elliott scored for their respective teams. Out on-loan Liam Dickinson scored again for Huddersfield - and Rams fans making their way to Pride Park Stadium hoped it wasn’t a case of ‘here we go again!’

Paul Jewell resisted change, fielding the same starting eleven that flattered to deceive at Barnsley. Robbie Savage was again out of the picture, not even on the substitute’s bench, as Jewell challenged his new signings to stake their claim and kick-start Derby’s season.

It was a different Derby that confronted the Blades, though; the Rams set their stall out from the start with quick, determined, aggressive play; everyone was covering better, looking more like a team and playing together, springing forward crisply with better delivery and setting the opposition some problems. A proper performance at last!

Rob Hulse had a good day against his former club – he was effective as the target man and bagged the crucial winner with 20 minutes to go - such a boost for him after his long injury lay-off and goal drought. Miles Addison was again titanic, looking imposing in the centre of the park - and in both penalty areas - even against a muscular Blades team sitting comfortably in the top 6, boasting the experience of Gary Speed as his opponent.

Derby took the game to the Blades and showed purpose and confidence, taking the lead after 23 minutes when Paul Green again got into the danger area on the end of a Commons cross to force an own goal from Kilgannon. Even the trademark soft goal, conceded almost immediately as Henderson powered his header in for the Blades to draw level, couldn’t dampen Derby’s refreshing determination and spirit.

There were several near things as the sprightly Rams worked and tested Blades’ keeper Paddy Kenny throughout; the luckless Tito Villa hit the bar and Derby even shrugged off the perceived injustice of a second-half penalty that referee Foy awarded and then denied us, as we continued to boss the game.

When Nacer Barazite replaced the still-ponderous Kazmierczak at half time, Derby found yet more spark and urgency as the skilful young Gunner helped to drive the Rams on to a deserved victory. What was pleasing was that Derby stuck at it as a team, they played for 90 minutes, shrugging off the instant equaliser and the penalty incident - and just got on with winning the game.

Good teams make their own luck while bad teams moan about bad luck and the Derby players should find renewed belief and confidence from their performance. Derby are still a long way behind League pacemakers Wolves and Brum but if they can get a result at Swansea and sustain this level of performance, a corner will have been turned.

The new players may have overcome their alleged fear of an expectant Pride Park Stadium crowd.

They should now recognise that they can feed off it and make their home a daunting venue for any opposition by rising to the challenge as they did on Saturday. The biggest Championship crowd of the day - over 7,000 more than at any other game (and five Premier League attendances) - willed Derby to end the horrid winless run, and the Rams’ faithful were finally rewarded.

The team were roared on throughout, the goals and the final whistle were greeted with a tumultuous noise as the relief exploded from the Rams’ faithful; it was a day that rejuvenated our pride in being a Ram and supporters at last felt the unusual joy of winning a good battle.

It was blessed relief all round but the manager knows that the Rams must keep going forward. Now let’s build upon it with some more points against the Welsh contingent during the coming week!

Last year’s RamsWeek 37 saw the continuation of media stories saying that there was a rift in the relationship between manager Billy Davies and the Rams’ board.

Davies said that he had no problem with Chairman Peter Gadsby or Chief Executive Trevor Birch, whilst the rest of us were in waiting for Derby County’s first win of the season.

Teenage prodigy Giles Barnes was to rejoin the squad for training after his broken foot had healed and, as with this season, the first international break had seen various Rams scattered around the globe away on duty with their countries.

The Newcastle United home game was selling out fast – and we all remember what happened next!

Photo: Action Images

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