DERBY County's powers of recovery were seen to the full this month.
An unusually flat display in the defeat at Middlesbrough sparked a run of five consecutive wins to cement a third-place finish in the Championship.
Head coach Steve McClaren was bitterly disappointed by the performance against his old club and made his feelings known after Nathaniel Chalobah's goal had given Middlesbrough the three points.
McClaren asked for a reaction and the players answered his call.
They won 3-1 at Blackpool a few days later despite the shock of falling behind after only 15 seconds.Chris Martin equalised before Patrick Bamford and Craig Bryson also found the net.
Martin's goal was his 20th of the season, the first Rams player to reach the mark since Dean Sturridge in 1995-96.
Derby scored another three goals to see off Huddersfield Town 3-1 in their next game.
Again, they had to recover from conceding an early goal.Johnny Russell levelled matters before an own goal and then a Martin penalty kept things ticking over nicely.
Manager, coaching staff and players remained cautious when asked about a top-six finish but it had been nailed on for some time.
Derby's form coupled with the inconsistency of play-off hopefuls meant the constant straight-batting of play-off/promotion talk brought a smile to the face of those media personnel asking the questions.
Easter weekend is a time of the season when issues can start to take shape.
Two games in the space of a few days is demanding on the players but Derby bagged six points, although they were made to graft by both Doncaster Rovers and Barnsley.
Former Rams striker Paul Dickov is in charge at Doncaster. The Scot is a fierce competitor and his side refused to let Derby settle but a goal from George Thorne on the stroke of half-time changed the complexion of the game.
It was fitting that the goal came from the on-loan midfielder because Thorne was Derby's best player on the night and his classy contribution in the final six weeks of the campaign was significant.
Martin scored Derby's second with a fine finish from Jamie Ward's centre and the Rams moved on to Easter Monday when they beat Barnsley 2-1.Jeff Hendrick and Russell put them two up and they had enough chances to have been out of sight before the visitors reduced the deficit late on to make for a nervy final 10 minutes.
"We made it harder work than it should have been – we need to be more ruthless," said McClaren.
He issued the same message following the 4-2 home win against Watford.
Derby could have scored eight against the Hornets and conceded two sloppy goals.
"It's ruthlessness at both ends that we need," McClaren warned. "If we make those kind of mistakes in the play-offs it will make our job very difficult."
