With wins from both of their opening games, Derby County stood amongst the front-runners in the Championship table and looked to build on a good start to the 2011-12 season.

Apart from the usual injury bulletins, news was at a premium early in the week; fans hoped for some transfer action whilst the manager continued to offer related musings about still wanting to fill the gaps in his squad.

The manager said that there would be no new faces coming to the club this week and that it may take until the international break arrives (which commences after the Burnley game on 27th August) before things happened. The usual end-of-transfer-window rush was anticipated.

A good start - even accounting for some key players yet to return from injury - can’t mask the lack of quality and depth that persists in some areas of the squad. There are good players yet to return from injury and the breakthrough of young players like O’Brien and Hendrick give rise to optimism but the season will take its toll on them.

Stronger squads at rival clubs that have started slower will no doubt come into their own to challenge for the top six Championship places when it matters.

The Rams are on the threshold of a significant turnabout in their fortunes but the club should capitalise on the early impetus this time around to keep the club on a clear upward trend. It’s a long season and building now to strengthen the ranks will add depth.

The way the Rams collapsed in December 2010 and struggled through the next 6 months amid the sale of key players and transfer/loan inaction until the situation became virtually desperate, still rankles with the fans.

Two factors present themselves at this early but promising stage of the season: first, the fact that the Rams are winning games - and serving notice that they might challenge at the business end of the Championship table for once must help to attract good players to the club.

Second, the club must therefore not ‘miss the train’ by failing to secure the right players to reinforce the squad, because that may be construed as cold feet: an ultimate lack of funds or weak ambition from within the ownership consortium would strangle the Rams’ challenge.

The Tuesday evening Championship results meant that Derby had fallen out of the top six, after some sides played their third game of the new campaign and took points to climb the table. Derby then had the chance to regain a high place on Wednesday night, when they took on Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Among the long list of Derby injuries, manager Clough had a fitness concern over James Bailey, who was withdrawn with an ankle injury at half-time at Watford. Only one change was made for the team at Blackpool, however, with Bailey passed fit. Lee Croft was left out, with the fast-improving Jeff Hendrick playing in a central midfield role instead.

As with Mark O’Brien in defence last Saturday, Hendrick had his full Rams debut as a reward for promising performances when called upon to step up to the first team out of necessity due to injuries to senior players.

Steve Davies and Jamie Ward formed the attack against the Seasiders.

The Rams had a tremendous following of some 1,800 fans among the 13,500 crowd to urge them on.

Whilst Blackpool gradually gained the upper hand in the match, both Ward and Steve Davies escaped to trouble the Seasiders’ defence on occasion.

The Rams restricted Blackpool’s attack effectively overall, and they also grew in confidence by building neatly from the back when possible as the half wore on. Chances for either side were at a premium, though.

With a 0-0 stalemate at the interval, Derby had measured and coped with Blackpool’s forays and had given a fair account of themselves. Had there been a creative spark in midfield to capitalise on the covering work of Bailey and Hendrick, plus the physical presence of a centre-forward to aid the isolated Steve Davies up front, Derby might have profited further from their steady performance.

Blackpool carried on in their spirited style after the break but Derby stuck to their game, and Ward saw one 20-yard effort clobber the crossbar. The Rams began to exert much more influence on the match to set the Tangerine plenty of problems in defence.

The Rams deservedly took the lead on the 70-minute mark when Craig Bryson scored from close range. The Scot tucked home a rebound from a fierce Steve Davies free kick taken from the edge of the Blackpool penalty area. The Tangerine goalkeeper Matt Gilks could do no more than parry the strike and Bryson registered his first goal for the club.

Derby almost had a second goal immediately, but Bailey couldn’t capitalise on the breakthrough. Derby handled whatever the Seasiders could throw at them from that point - and had a few opportunities themselves. It had been a much more enterprising performance than the win at Watford last week, and the second half display had been excellent.

The Rams have pleasingly found the knack of playing out the game without enduring undue pressure and they continued to exhibit their new-found tenacity.

The Rams took three points again with a 1-0 victory - and it was the first time that Derby County had won their opening three games of the season since 1948! Even Mr Clough Seniors’ “Champion Rams” did not achieve that feat.

In another excellent team display, the performances of Mark O’Brien and Jeff Hendrick again caught the eye as the young Rams played their part since being thrust into the fray. Manager Clough singled out Craig Bryson for his prodigious work-rate as well as being ‘the Scot on the spot’ to register his first goal for his new club.

Promoted Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion - also enjoying a tremendous 100% start with three wins in a row - topped the Championship table alongside Derby County on Wednesday night, all with 9 points in the bag already.

With a home game next against struggling Doncaster Rovers - without a point so far and propping up the foot of the table - Derby could look forward with growing optimism. Despite the injuries and a somewhat incomplete look to the promised Glick-Clough squad-building project, the Rams were challenging the record books. The manager named an unchanged side for the game.

Rovers had endured a torrid start to the season with three straight defeats. Bad luck, a lack of goals and weak defending are a debilitating combination and those shortcomings have characterised Doncaster’s campaign so far. It has been very hit-and-miss, with the emphasis on the misses. Speaking of which, Donny now have Giles Barnes in their ranks.

Ex-Ram Giles is an extravagantly talented lad but has a highly-flawed fitness record and suspect mentality. He’s had to discard his dreams of the golden-paved boulevards of the Premier League to plod the cobbled streets of the Championship, at a much smaller club than Derby County.

Having left the Rams, he found himself discarded by first by Fulham, then by WBA (Roy Hodgson’s not a fan of his, then!) He was even rejected by Nothingham Forest - but Donny has picked him up on a one-season contract.

Giles’ appearance is less alarming these days now he’s wisely ditched the dopey Afro fright-wig hairstyle but his football is muted too. He flitted around the game with some touches that would look cool when pasted together in a series of two-second clips - apart from one good run and a rare shot.

That went sky-high over the bar and sent the South East Corner into dribbling raptures of derision. Is Giles now yesterday’s man, instead of tomorrow’s star? He’ll answer that by himself.

Like the efforts of the rest of his alleged attacking colleagues, it was all largely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Most of his teammates seemed to specialise in just passing back to their keeper, moseying around bereft of much impetus or ambition; just playing neat but ineffectual football.

Such teams do get relegated if they can’t defend better, or snap out of it to take the game more to the opposition. Donny looked like Derby had for years; timid, unconvincing, second-best.

That might be unkind given the absence of strikers Billy Sharp and James Hayter from Donny’s front ranks but then again, the Rams also had a fair few players sidelined through injury.

Rovers had few bright moments as they pedalled around Pride Park Stadium in a largely toothless manner but Chelsea loanee Milan Lalkovich sent in a 20-yarded that went close, and James Bailey headed a Simon Gillett effort off the line. The Donny ‘home bogey’ has been laid, though!

It’s ‘early doors’ as yet for all teams but I suspect I was not alone in expecting Derby to slowly gel and improve - and Doncaster to put in another solid, workmanlike season to be the kind of outfit that is perpetually a thorn in the side of so-called bigger more ambitious clubs like Derby.

The Rams took control from the off and went about securing the points with early goals in both halves of the match. Kevin Kilbane obligingly rammed in a header from Ben Davies’ inviting cross after only 5 minutes - and Steve Davies took just 15 seconds of the second period to achieve precisely the same, from the same supply source. He found time and room to net a perfect header when Ben again delivered what is at last becoming his trademark accuracy into the box.

Ben Davies - a man-of the match contender on Saturday despite Shackell and O’Brien repeating their superb output to be both in contention for the award - stuck in the third goal himself with a typical piece of precision finishing and he was a busy influence all afternoon. Derby had effective, hard-working players all over the pitch and the 3-0 win was thoroughly deserved.

Even the loss of Jamie Ward through injury after just 25 minutes didn’t disrupt Derby’s momentum, as the born-again Lee Croft came on and again showed his spirit, willingness and commitment to help propel the Rams to victory.

The solid defensive partnership of the imposing Shackell and non-nonsense Mark O’Brien soon stamped their authority on the game - and that has been the real foundation for Derby’s turnabout this season.

Shackell has given the aerial domination so often lacking. O’Brien is simply doing what Clough hoped that the likes of Buxton, Anderson. Leacock and others might have achieved; dealing with the danger decisively and coming out with the ball more often than not. At this time, the likes of Shaun Barker and Chris Riggott have no claims to replace them in the starting line-up.

Craig Bryson is epitomising the tag of ‘midfield dynamo’ with his non-stop coverage and prodigious work-rate. Spare a thought for the injured Paul Green, perhaps the last representative of the Billy Davies-Paul Jewell recruitment sprees. He must wonder how he’ll reclaim his shirt.

Mercifully, Clough is now also able to move beyond reliance on remnants such as Bywater and Leacock elsewhere in his starting line-up - and Stephen Pearson simply isn’t productive enough.

The whole team again put in the kind of prodigious, determined effort that has become the hallmark of their winning performances this season. It’s as if the penny has dropped and Rams players have now actually got the message that the best teams also work the hardest - and that you have to work your nuts off to earn the right to play the opposition and take the points.

The attendance at fewer than 23,400 was disappointing by Rams’ standards but there were understandably major gaps in the away end - and games like Forest-Foxes and West Ham-Leeds clashes were bound to be bigger draws on the day.

Derby joined Southampton at the top of the Championship table as the only two clubs with a 100% record. The record books have been dusted off and expectations are being raised every game.

Supporters are more than pleasantly surprised by a total turnabout in 2011-12 from the morbid incompetence previously on display, which left fans so flat at the end of last season. That saw four straight defeats, 11 goals conceded and a conclusion to the campaign leaving Derby 7 points adrift of even the previous season’s meagre points’ total. Here’s how 2010-11 finished:

Burnley 2-4 (h)

Norwich City 2-3 (a)

Bristol City 0-2 (h)

Reading 1-2 (a)

At the start of 2010-11, the Rams needed 11 games to amass 12 points, and it took until October 2nd. In that period, Derby won 3 games and lost 4; they scored 15 goals but conceded 13. They kept improving but dive-bombed by Christmas.

The turnabout of 2011-12 has brought four wins, twelve points, and a plus-6 goal difference already, with two of the promotion favourites beaten. It’s Derby’s best start for 105 seasons and (tempting providence), a win next week against Burnley will see the Rams equal their all-time record of five straight wins at the start of a campaign - achieved only once in their history, in season 1905-06.

As Clough said after the win, Derby’s early exit from the Carling Cup gives the blessing of a clear week to prepare for the visit of Burnley. The tantalisingly-close target for Derby of equalling their all-time five-in-a-row winning sequence beckons. How long has it been since you cannot wait for the game on the next weekend to arrive?

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In RamsWeek 34 last year I reflected on ‘the land of make believe’ with DCFC suggesting that a better season would happen despite low investment, injury problems and mixed form - whilst rivals like Forest, Leicester, Cardiff and QPR were obtaining ‘marquee’ signings to show a determination to make an impression at the business end of the Championship table.

Derby announced yet more network business partners - whilst Cardiff City (for example) had a ‘fanfare’ arrival in the flamboyant Craig Bellamy, saw a merchandise sales explosion and ticket office surge, and had a full stadium to see Bellamy shine as the Bluebirds won 3-0.

Their gamble didn’t bring them promotion - but fans did have sustained entertainment and the club underlined their intention to challenge.

Derby lost 2-1 at Coventry City in an undistinguished match in which the Derby defence again proved a rather soft touch, though makeshift striker Dean Moxey scored the Rams’ goal.

Robbie Savage celebrated his 500th League appearance and managed media stints on three BBC programmes to boot. Missing him? Nope….he’s far better on Radio Five Live, thanks!

Photo: Action Images

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