The loss at Cardiff hurt everyone from the manager to the fans but how far reaching are its effects and can the Rams bounce back from a potentially soul destroying loss?

Personally the most pleasing aspect to come out of the defeat is that although the doomsdayers have been out in force they have been equalled if not bettered on most message boards and media by other fans calling for calm.

There is no doubt that the defeat was a huge setback and the names that were on the pitch should have been good enough to avoid the score line that eventuated but factors working against the team seem to be spiralling ridiculously out of control.

Nigel Clough was succinct when he spoke to the official site about the defeat:

"We were poor and that is why the result ended up as it was; we were not good enough. There was a lack of desire and a lack of aggression from us and that is the most disappointing element”.

"There are factors, such as the injuries, but I will not allow us to use it as an excuse. The eleven we named should have enough about them to go and compete”.

"We will now be looking for a response on Saturday at home to Sheffield Wednesday; the players certainly need to stand up and be counted this weekend following that. At this stage we have no idea who will be available for selection.”

Derby Captain Robbie Savage defended his manger but definitely not his team:

"The Gaffer treats us the way we should be treated, and we let him down badly out there. We got back in the game at 2-1 and to be fair there were a few nerves flying around the place. If you defend like we did, you will get nothing from games - end of story”.

"What I can't understand is how we can go from such a high and a great performance against arguably one of the best teams in the division to getting six put past us. Collectively and individually it really wasn't good enough and we have to respond from this now."

"We are without as many as ten players out there and that is a massive, massive thing," he said. It is hard for us to get eleven players out there at the moment, but that is not an excuse for what happened."

Clough and Sav may refuse to use injuries as an excuse but in reality it is a pretty decent one as it is almost comical that players are falling like dominoes to a series of woes.

If any team, in any league had 11 first team players out injured and 7 or 8 of those were likely to be in the mix for starting positions, no matter what their budget that team would struggle and there is no doubt the Rams are struggling.

When it comes to injuries you could easily conclude that Derby had a gypsy curse placed on them over recent years having produced injury lists as long as a match day squad. In fact the current list could make a starting eleven as good if not better than the one on the park.

Just for fun and for those of you not counting, let’s list the injuries:

Leacock, Buxton, Connolly, Addisson, Green, Pearson, Davies, Zadkovich, Commons, Barnes and Porter.

If one of those slipped on the keeper’s gloves then you have a very handy Championship team which highlights exactly what Nigel Clough is up against.

Fans continue to focus in on deficiencies in the team, the system it plays and players who are underperforming regularly. That is all well and good but even if Nigel wanted to shake things up or try some different systems, where does he turn to once he has swung the axe?

Bringing in youngsters could prove a master stroke if it worked but under such pressure to produce, it could also cripple their confidence if results continued to fall in the negative.

The question must be asked how and why Derby has so many injured players and why they continue to sustain long term injuries. The medical staff and the decisions being made on their treatment and recovery should be under the microscope as much if not more so than the managers performance.

The other question is should the club have decided to roll the dice again on many of these players who have a shocking history of being sidelined. Players were chopped and shipped out for not performing in a Derby shirt but surely those who had been regular absentees were perhaps as worthy for a move on that basis.

Leacock (sorry!), Pearson, Davies, Barnes and Commons in particular have been regular absentees when it comes to being sidelined. They can all be very effective players but their china doll like dispositions make them an ongoing gamble for the club, especially from this point onwards if injuries persist.

I am not advocating that we throw the baby out with the bath water but some tough decisions were made with the playing list at the start of the season and it may be the case to do so again. A club cannot keep players on potential alone and by the end of this campaign it will be very clear who is earning their keep when evaluating talent vs minutes on the park.

A 6-1 loss does not make a season; neither does some bad luck or ordinary refereeing. This season looks like it will hinge on being able to get players fit and back onto the pitch in time to arrest a slide that the club, manager and fans do not need.

What was supposed to be a year of consolidation and growth could fast become another battle for Championship survival. I have faith in the manager to do the right things but the factors that are out of his control will test everyone’s patience.

Football fans are not renowned for their patience and come January if things continue in this manner pressure may shift from the manager to the club. Purse strings may need to be loosened slightly to bring in reinforcements should the casualty list not ease dramatically by then.

That is when the true test for everyone involved from top to bottom will begin, we can only hope it will not get to that point. When you follow Derby County though, you can be excused for resigning yourself to thinking it most probably will.

Photo: Action Images

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