Derby County had a challenging week ahead, with a televised match at Championship leaders QPR before a home game with play-off hopefuls Burnley FC.

Queens Park Rangers stood on the cusp of promotion and the small but ambitious Shepherds Bush club has supported their well-travelled manager Neil Warnock with the required funding to change the moribund club into Premier League contenders.

Nigel Clough drew parallels between QPR and Derby in that Rangers were struggling last season but are now riding high - and that the investment now promised from Derby’s owning consortium could propel the Rams into a similarly challenging position in a year’s time.

Since last April, QPR have moved up from the bottom 6 to top position and are champions-elect; Derby stand 19th, several points behind their 2010 points’ tally.

There are factors where the Rams are already significantly superior to QPR - the fanbase, commercial & corporate income, the stadium and training complex.

Add proper team funding to those factors and there should be no way that we need to regard QPR - or at least 10 other Premier League or Championship contenders - with envy or awe from such a lowly league position. With respect to Rangers, there are bigger clubs that Derby could and should eclipse.

Ex-Rams Tommy Smith and Rob Hulse, now enjoying success in the QPR squad, personify the experienced and capable Championship players that Derby manager Nigel Clough alluded to in discussing the type of players that the club needs to bring in during the summer.

Clough wanted to bring Tommy Smith back to Derby when the forward was still at Portsmouth - but perhaps that’s one of many mooted deals that got knocked on the head for the sake of economy? That’s all history, and what’s important now is how Derby builds for a better future.

Squad experience and quality is the difference between success and mediocrity - and Derby’s owners must know that skimping on recruitment of ready-made, talented players any longer will leave them lagging behind clubs like Rangers, Swansea and Cardiff who have set out their stall for promotion. More mediocrity will drive away the fans, whose patience has now worn very thin.

After their tenacious and impressive performance at home to defeat DirtyLeeds last week, the Rams took off to West London declaring their renewed confidence, with enough breathing space (8 points) between themselves and the bottom three clubs to be able to express themselves and give the League leaders a good game.

QPR boss Neil Warnock said that Derby were the best side they’d played this season; Rangers snatched a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Pride Park Stadium in August after the Rams had led 2-0 right up until added time.

Nigel Clough chose a 4-3-3 formation at Loftus Road, with Theo Robinson drafted in alongside Steve Davies and Jamie Ward, and Ben Davies dropped to the bench

It was refreshing that by his team selection, Clough turned the debate as to whether QPR could all but claim promotion into a question if Derby could secure the points to guarantee their Championship survival.

The match started at a combative pace with Rangers trying to establish dominance and Derby resisting - too strongly, in Robbie Savage’s case as the Rams’ skipper was booked after only 14 minutes for paying close attention to playmaker Adel Taarabt. Sav won that battle though, as the Moroccan was eventually hauled off well before the end of the game.

Rangers were the more dangerous side as expected, as they achieved territorial advantage with Taarabt, Smith and Routledge going close to scoring. For Derby, James Bailey struck a long-range effort that was wickedly close to goal after 35 minutes.

Then Pearson and Robinson raided the QPR goal menacingly on a breakaway - but Theo showed no composure in batting a wild shot well wide. If Theo could add a cooler head to the raw talent and pace, he’d be a player. The Rams had done well overall to keep the game scoreless at the interval.

The pattern of play continued upon the restart with Rangers enjoying more possession without threatening Brad Jones in the Derby goal. Derby held firm in defence as QPR struggled to make headway. Daniel Ayala went into the book after an hour for a foul on Tommy Smith; Bailey and Brayford also collected yellow cards for fouls, as the Hoops turned up the heat and the Rams endeavoured to keep their cool to and hold off Rangers’ attacks.

Pearson and Ward combined splendidly but the Scot was denied by a last-ditch Paddy Kenny save in the Rangers goal. After 70 minutes QPR withdrew their Moroccan talisman Taarabt, who had been largely ineffectual in the second half. Agyemang replaced him and Rob Hulse also entered the fray closer to the end but Rangers could not break through an organised Derby defence.

Derby fought tigerishly and kept Rangers out to postpone their promotion party; there had been a gathering of names and faces at Loftus Road, hoping for the good vibes of a promotion party but Derby were having none of it.

The Rams certainly pooped QPR’s party as their anticipated confirmation of promotion was postponed. Derby earned an unexpected but well-merited point in the 0-0 draw; even the most optimistic Derby fans would have been pleasantly surprised to have taken four points from the last two games against Leeds and QPR in two very good displays.

Rangers in fact had their promotion party further postponed by Cardiff City, after the 2-2 draw on Saturday but still look destined (points’ deduction for alleged rule-breaking notwithstanding) to be Championship title winners by a margin this season.

The Rams were 9 points clear of the bottom three, with a win against Burnley on Easter Saturday required to assure them of Championship safety. Derby play Norwich City at Carrow Road on Easter Monday and good result against Burnley would give Derby mathematic safety from the clutches of the bottom three.

That eventuality has encouraged manager Nigel Clough to book in Sean Barker for his long-postponed knee operation for straight after Easter, which would mean the defender missing Derby’s final two games of the season. However, it would also enable Sean to hasten his rehab and participate fully in the 2011-12 pre-season schedules.

Apart from the excellent Daniel Ayala, Clough would still have Dean Leacock, Russell Anderson and Miles Addison to call on in central defence for those remaining Championship games.

Nigel Clough’s comparisons between Derby and QPR in declaring that the Rams could emulate the Loftus Road club’s rapid renaissance next season will be measured by the level of investment.

Rams fans currently envy the investment evident at Shepherds Bush - including QPR’s nabbing of Rob Hulse last August - and will expect Messrs Clough and Glick to build a similarly formidable team, if that’s to be the yardstick for us.

Transfer speculation has already begun in earnest, with the Rams being linked in a £1m+ move for Foxes’ striker Martyn Waghorn, the player that couldn’t join on loan in January. Nigel Clough was public about his intentions at securing the services of Jamie Ward, Theo Robinson and Frank Fielding on a permanent basis.

The Rams won a trophy this week - the Derbyshire Senior Cup - with a 5-0 win over Buxton at Chesterfield’s b2net Stadium. Jeff Hendrick scored twice with other goals coming from Conor Doyle, Callum Ball and Aaron Cole. Hendrick was denied a hat-trick by a penalty save as Derby outclassed Buxton; a strong Rams team included Leacock, Anderson, Addison and Bueno.

Back in the Championship, Good Friday’s 1-1 draw between Coventry and Scunthorpe cut Derby’s points’ lead over the Championship’s bottom three to eight points - but as the Iron now had just 3 games left and a vastly inferior goal difference (it was -32, if fact!) to the Rams, only 4 defeats for Derby and 3 wins for Scunthorpe would see them overtake us.

The Trees crept back into the top six with only their 2nd win in 12 games as they beat Leicester 3-2 (though that East Midlands’ promotion clash at the City Ground only attracted a crowd of 22,200).

Derby went into Saturday’s game at home to Burnley needing a point to make 99.99% certain of survival, and a win would settle the issue altogether as Scunthorpe would not be able to overhaul the Rams. Clough had to leave out Gareth Roberts (illness) and drafted in Russell Anderson at left back.

It was to be a significant weakness and Derby’s lack of cover was ultimately laid bare by Burnley, who turned the tables on the Rams to recover from a 2-1 interval deficit. As with much of the week, it was a sweltering day with midsummer temperatures enjoyed by the 25,200 crowd but endured by the players - especially the Derby players, by the end of the match.

The Clarets inflicted a painful 2-4 home defeat to postpone confirmation of Derby’s Championship safety whilst ratcheting up the tension at the top of the table. The Lancashire side are now locked on 66 points, with Forest and Leeds for 6th place in the table and are making a late bid to snatch a play-off place. The Rams remained 19th, 8 points clear of third-bottom Scunthorpe United.

The game started well for Derby, as Theo Robinson swept in Steve Pearson’s low cross after only 5 minutes. Burnley levelled 10 minutes later when Derby allowed them to play inside the box, the impressive Chris Eagles stuffing the ball in tidily from 10 yards out.

It was a good contest, which Derby took hold of temporarily when Jamie Ward’s 20-yarder beat Jensen in the Burnley goal just after the half-hour mark. The Rams might have increased their lead even though Burnley also had their moments.

It was a different story after the break as the Lancashire side took a grip on the game. Derby’s challenge melted away like ice in the sun as they withered under Burnley’s enterprise. It was a game of two halves, as ye olde cliché goes, with Derby showing enterprise and spirit in the first period to establish a lead but getting the run-around and being well beaten by the full time whistle.

Burnley went into the ascendancy right from the restart and then made their man-advantage pay for the last half-hour, after Jamie Ward’s dismissal for hauling down ex-Ram turncoat Tyrone Mears. Brad Jones saved the resultant penalty from Eagles, but the Burnley man reacted more quickly than defenders and he put Burnley level. Ward now faces a two-match ban.

Mears has enjoyed his games against Derby this season, having clinched the match at Turf Moor in November with the winning goal. He enjoyed his day raiding on the flank, whereas Russell Anderson struggled at left back - he was often exposed, unsuited away from his natural position in central defence.

Daniel Ayala spent the latter stages at left back and was more mobile and effective but the game had gone well away from Derby by then. With Sean Barker booked in for his knee operation after the Easter Monday game at Norwich, no doubt manager Nigel Clough wanted to give Anderson match time to build his fitness.

Barker’s early surgery should help him to recover ready for Derby’s pre-season preparation, with friendlies set to commence on Saturday 16th July at Burton Albion (where else?)

Perhaps the Rams would have had more defensive solidity against Burnley had Ayala started in Gareth Roberts’ left-back berth, with Anderson or Addison partnering Barker in central defence - who knows? As with Dean Leacock’s hapless full-back appearances, the lack of cover in Derby’s squad was evident again and the manager needs to go shopping for adequate resources.

Whatever, Burnley is a small-town club with a big bank balance, through their substantial ‘parachute’ payments; they can afford better players and showed their superiority over Derby in a chastening second half.

The Clarets kept their cool to turn the match effectively into a training display, as 10-man Derby flagged like tired, teased puppies chasing a ball on the beach. Five minutes after Eagles’ penalty-rebound strike, Derby’s defence opened up to allow Elliott to head home an Eagles cross and with 15 minutes to go, Derby’s tired players backed off McCann and invited him to strike from 25 yards to complete the scoring.

Clough gave youngsters Callum Ball and Jeff Hendrick a taste of the action as substitutes and hopes they will play a more significant part in the squad in 2011-12.

Now the Rams must regroup for another tough away trip hoping to spoil another promotion charge, this time at Carrow Road, Norwich. The Rams may be confirmed as safe from relegation even in defeat on Easter Monday if Scunthorpe fails to win. Like last season, it will be another tight squeeze to keep clear of danger, the optimism then being recharged ready for the next campaign.

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In RamsWeek 17 last season, it seemed that ‘truth is out of style’ as Derby County rather window-dressed another mediocre away performance at Bristol City, the 2-1 reversal being the Rams’ 15th away defeat of the season. Midfielder Stephen Pearson scored a rare, late goal (his first in 18 months) to make the scoreline look closer than the play had suggested.

Manager Clough thought Derby had played well, but Robbie Savage launched a diatribe against Radio Derby because they had the temerity to report that Derby had put in a toothless display. Sav criticised Radio Derby team, whom he thought should be entirely partial to the Rams’ cause.

He alleged that there were ‘stooge’ calls to the station’s football phone-in programme with RD selecting fans to speak on-air who were critical of the team’s performances and discipline. It was all very unnecessary and did not win Sav any new friends.

No one doubted Sav’s passion for his team and commitment to the cause but he went too far, even castigating ex-Ram Roger Davies for getting sent off in the European Cup semi-final against Juventus in the mid-70s! “Stretch” Davies had also been critical of the team in commentary.

Sean Barker collected the Player of the Year award and manager Clough secured Scottish loanee defender Russell Anderson on a permanent two-year deal at Derby.

Season ticket renewals were reportedly 500 sales ahead of the corresponding time the previous season, as Derby’s ever-loyal fans anticipated a better season in 2010-11….yeah, right!

Photo: Action Images

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