A MONTH that started with a thumping away win ended with the manager being sacked.
Only in football can this happen.Craig Bryson scored a hat-trick in the 5-1 victory at Millwall – Derby County's most comprehensive victory on the road since they won an FA Cup tie at Luton in 1993 and their biggest away League win in almost 30 years since winning by the same score at Swansea City in 1984.
A 100% away record in four matches this season – three in the Championship and one in the Capital One Cup – had seen Nigel Clough's team score 11 goals and concede two.
The travel sickness that blighted the Rams last season was fast becoming a distant memory.
Derby sat seventh after they had dismantled Millwall and a 2-2 draw against Bolton Wanderers kept spirits and belief high.Johnny Russell hit both goals at Bolton but Derby – and Clough – needed a home win in the League.
The frustration continued when Reading visited and left with a 3-1 victory.
The see-saw nature of Derby's season made it difficult to judge them.
No team in the Championship had bettered their 10 points on the road and yet only Yeovil had a worse home record.
A third consecutive home League defeat left supporters deeply frustrated and they made their feelings known at the end of the Reading game.
The search was on for a solution to the puzzle and fingers of blame twitched in their eagerness to find a target.
Could a Capital One Cup tie away to Leicester City provide a lift?
For 78 minutes the answer was 'yes' as Derby were superior to the Foxes, especially in the first half.Chris Martin put the Rams ahead and they appeared to be heading into the fourth round for the first time since 2008 only to be sunk by two late goals in the space of four minutes.
Substitute Anthony Knockaert, with an unstoppable free kick, and Danny Drinkwater struck to turn the contest on its head and give Leicester a
2-1 victory.
Derby headed to the City Ground, Nottingham, to face rivals Forest needing to salvage something from the week.
They lost 1-0 and only hours later a whirlwind began.
Clough was dismissed after more than four years in charge and opinion for and against the decision to show him the door flared, some of it heated.
Derby sat 14th after nine games – seven points adrift of the top six and the same amount of points above the bottom three.
The search was on for a new manager and former England boss Steve McClaren was quickly installed as favourite.
