Derby County had negotiated a difficult week off the pitch by achieving FA Cup and Championship victories and awaited their next opponents in the FA Cup.

Despite the win at Peterborough, Robbie Savage revealed that manager Nigel Clough gave the team a huge dressing down after the game. Speaking on the BBC’s Late Kick Off programme, Savage said that Clough ‘went barmy’ because the team relaxed and weren’t ruthless enough.

On the same programme, ex-Rams man-mountain Darren Moore acknowledged the task that Clough faced in improving the team whilst balancing the books and reducing wages, saying that fans ‘should ignore what was happening on the pitch’. That’s easy to say, Daz but we do pay our hard-earned for a bit of entertainment. Should we play our mp3s or bring a book instead?

Fans hoped that the improvement last week wasn’t another false dawn and that the team would show consistent improvement. In fact you could adjudge that the fixtures were quite kind to Derby last week as they sought recovery from the nightmare against Scunthorpe and the media controversy that followed it - they had to overcome a League One team and then played the bottom club in the Championship.

Though the forthcoming FA Cup game would bring a diversion from League worries and there was a real chance of progress in the competition, the following Championship games will indicate if progress has been made from the ‘watershed’.

After 8 years of delays, postponement and procrastination, the FA revealed more plans regarding the new national football headquarters in Burton, to be known as St George’s Park. The former Rangemoor complex will have 12 pitches and 2 hotels to enhance the local accommodation amenities. It will be the national football base at all levels of the English game.

It’s odd then that officials involved in putting together Derby’s failed World Cup 2018 bid said this week that the city’s accommodation and transport links were factors in the bid’s failure.

With the Burton development going ahead as the focus of the England team just 10 miles away from Derby, that strengthened Derby’s case - especially when the adopted home of false franchise football of Milton Keynes (unforgivably chosen for 2018) by the FA was somehow deemed superior to Derby.

Still, it is always unrewarding trying to fathom the FA’s reasoning on many issues. I’ve much more objection to MK’s selection as a World Cup venue though, than Nothingham - as at least one can acknowledge that our bigger neighbouring city has broader amenities for tourists.

On Tuesday, Derby knew they had a game on Saturday after Doncaster Rovers won 1-0 at Brentford in their twice-postponed 3rd Round FA Cup tie. Few needed reminding that Rovers had won 2-0 at Pride Park Stadium in the Championship before Christmas; one of a trio of dreadful recent home performances. A vast improvement would be needed to win through to the 5th Round.

Striker Luke Varney, known as ‘Jewell’s Folly’ in this column as he was Paul Jewell’s final, baffling signing, has gone on loan again as expected to Sheffield Wednesday for the remainder of the season. Goalkeeper Ross Atkins has joined Burton Albion on a short loan.

Nigel Clough was still active in the loan market for ‘two or three’ players and was reportedly after young Arsenal forward Gilles Sunu and Millwall winger Dave Martin.

Clough hadn’t ruled out a permanent deal for an unnamed player and also wanted to keep Lee Johnson, DJ Campbell and Nicky Hunt beyond their current loans, which expire at the end of January. Their absence would begin to make the squad somewhat thin again.

With James Vaughan now making a mark in Everton’s first team, it seems unlikely that the young Toffees’ striker will return to Derby County as previously anticipated. Clough has cancelled the contract of young Aussie midfielder Rueben Zadkovich - another of Jewell’s marginal signings.

On Friday, that reliable journal, The Daily Mirror ran a story declaring that DCFC were in crisis, up for sale for £30m with all players up for sale due to an urgent need to raise money for debts. The club condemned the story as ‘categorically untrue’. Tom Glick said it was ‘very frustrating’ to have to respond to such stories. From DCFC’s point of view, the response was: ‘Crisis? What Crisis?’

The Mirror story does not concur with the club’s regular assurances that debts have been reduced according to targets and that the player wage budget and squad size has been slashed according to budget. Some mischief-making could be abroad again, although the article won’t sit easily with those fans who question the commitment of GSE’s billionaire partners to the club.

Although the club has some debts, including payment to former director Adam Pearson for his shareholding, these are in ‘a series of payments which are on-schedule’, Glick asserted. He denied that they had been presenting to potential new investors, or that GSE wanted to sell the club, or needed to sell players, or that DCFC had to raise £8m immediately.

The club demanded a retraction from the newspaper, which will be in receipt of a solicitor’s letter.

The Rams’ President and CEO re-stated that the ownership group remains committed to their long term aim of bringing success back to the club. Progress on the pitch - some of it soon, if possible - will convince grumbling fans that GSE are fully entitled their custodianship, the trappings that go with it and whatever charges that are levied to Derby County for their services.

Unabashed, Tom Glick has applied for a position on the Football League Board, whilst former Cabinet minister and Rams fan Geoff Hoon could be in the running to succeed Football League executive chairman Brian Mawhinney.

The real business is the football on the pitch, and the product is poor. The Rams badly needed another home victory to follow the defeat of Millwall; the FA Cup again on the menu - even if fans’ minds were already fixed firmly upon the forthcoming clash with the Trees in the Championship. It wasn’t pretty - except for the winning goal - but Derby eased themselves through to the last 16.

Victory over Doncaster Rovers (after a 25-year wait) was played out in front of less than half of the crowd that endured the Championship home defeat to Donny a few weeks earlier. 11,300 attended and Rams fans had to wait almost until the end of the game to see any quality. Doncaster proved as stubborn as ever and the sides fought a dour struggle.

Derby kept it tight and Buxton and the bloodied Barker battled manfully to give the Derby defence a stronger look but Porter was off the pace and Davies had only occasional joy against a robust Rovers back line. All too often, Derby players delayed or went backwards or made poor decisions in the attacking third. A lack of responsibility-taking was symptomatic of their low confidence.

When Derby did break through, they squandered the few chances created, including one bad miss by Steve Davies shot wide when the Donny defence for once faltered, leaving the Rams clear. It seemed easier to score.

Donny were tidy, insistent and John Oster was influential in midfield. There was with little entertainment though, until the closing stages when Nigel Clough used substitutes Kris Commons and Rob Hulse and some positive attacking play resulted. An unexpected hero and match-winner arrived in Jay McEveley, who had to take over from the ill Dean Moxey with 15 minutes to go.

The prospect of a replay at Doncaster was hardly a welcome one but with just 3 minutes to go, Stephen Pearson for once took on the opposing defence and ran at them. His cross-shot was blocked but the ball broke to Jay McEveley; from outside the penalty area and without hesitation, Jay let fly with a ferocious left-foot blast that screamed into the top corner of the Rovers’ net!

It just goes to show that teams make their own luck.  Derby had laboured to penetrate the Donny defence and as in many of the recent games, the groans were as frequent as the chances were few, players unwilling to seize the day - but instead of passing, dithering or giving the ball away, Pearson had a go. When the ball broke to McEveley, he took aim. There’s a lesson there, lads.

The Rams aren’t as convincing in the knock-out competitions as they were last season though with some of the big guns already eliminated, we might have more of a chance of progress. Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton have all been bundled out.

The Rams have another home tie from the Cup draw, though a tough one, against Premier League Birmingham City. The match will be played on Feb 13-14th, when the Rams were due to play at Reading - who are at home to West Bromwich Albion in the 5th Round.

Another challenging week faces the Rams as they look to improve their league position. On Tuesday they visit Plymouth Argyle and I hardly need to remind Rams fans that the home match next Saturday is against Wee Billy’s Nothingham F*rest; the game is already a sell-out.

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RamsWeek 4 in 2009 saw Derby ‘halfway to paradise’ having defeated Premier League and World Club champions Manchester United in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final.

The home defeat to QPR had brought everyone back down to earth although there were signs that Nigel Clough was trying to rehabilitate the broken squad he’d inherited. The Rams had a following of 9,000 at Old Trafford but found the Red Devils too strong to hold.

Nani levelled the aggregate score after 15 minutes and O’Shea put United ahead shortly after, and as Tevez struck their third, Derby’s defending looking less than secure. Derby managed to pull it back to 2-3 on aggregate when Paul Green was upended and Barnes converted the penalty.

However, ex-United goalie Roy Carroll all but dashed Derby’s hopes of progress when he chopped Nani down, Ronaldo making it 4-Derby rallied and Giles Barnes struck two goals.

Derby weren’t finished though as Giles Barnes slammed in a brilliant 30-yard free kick and United were certainly relieved at the final whistle. The Rams had pushed the Red Devils to a 4-3 aggregate score at a time when no-one could score against Fergy’s mean machine.

It had been a great cup run - and something that brought supporters some cheer in yet another season of turmoil and disappointment. Although Clough still had to salvage Derby’s League season, another cup date came next - the home 4th Round tie with Nothingham Forest.

It was a crackling game in front of 32,000 and Rob Hulse swept Derby into the lead. They couldn’t finish the Trees off, however and ex-Ram Rob Earnshaw stole an equaliser. Perhaps it would be even more satisfying to beat them at their own place in the replay!

Photo: Action Images

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