Mid-season report: Derby County

Such was the fury surrounding manager Nigel Clough's sudden dismissal at Derby County that the supporters rallied behind their fallen hero and formed a 'Clough In, Board Out' e-petition in September.

By virtue of the fact that the petition remains some 1,443 signatures short of its 2,000 target, with three months having elapsed since the last person signed it, you could say that the vitriol from the fanbase toward the club's hierarchy has subsided somewhat since the appointment of Steve McClaren.

The Rams sat 14th in the Championship table when the former England boss took charge of the East Midlands outfit but, some 92 days later, second-placed Derby end the year in contention for an automatic promotion berth into the Premier League.

Below, Sport Mole looks at the rise and rise of Derby County since McClaren took the reins at Pride Park earlier this season.

August

County endured a mixed opening month in the Championship, with then-manager Clough registering seven points from a possible 15.

Leon Best's 89th-minute equaliser denied Derby an opening-day victory as Blackburn Rovers returned to Lancashire with a 1-1 draw, with summer signing Johnny Russell opening his account for the hosts at the first time of asking following a £750k move from Dundee United.

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It was another summer recruit who helped the club to its first victory of the campaign, as Chris Martin - a free transfer - struck twice in a 2-1 win away to Brighton & Hove Albion six days later.

Lee Grant - also signed as a free agent - joined new teammates Russell and Martin by finding the net in his opening couple of fixtures for the club, only his came at the wrong end as an own goal from the goalkeeper provided the club with its first defeat in the 1-0 loss to Leicester City.

Derby also sealed their passage to the second round of the Capital One Cup by beating Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park, before demolishing Brentford 5-0 at the end of the month to book a third-round clash with the Foxes.

September

Things looked brighter for County early in September, with Clough presiding over a 5-1 demolition of Millwall, but it would prove to be the last month of the 47-year-old's four-year stint in the East Midlands.

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Despite the five-star performance in dispatching Steve Lomas's men, back-to-back defeats soon followed, with Leicester eliminating Derby from the League Cup, before a 1-0 loss to his former club Nottingham Forest saw Clough have his contract terminated.

The outrage extended beyond the football world and entered pop culture, with One Direction star Niall Horan echoing the sentiments of Robbie Savage in expressing his disapproval with the decision.

October

McClaren, who was appointed on September 30, watched on from the stands as Darren Wassall took charge of the 4-4 thriller with Ipswich Town on October 1, with the ex-FC Twente boss witnessing the Jekyll and Hyde element of his squad.

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The 52-year-old's first time in the Rams' dugout proved fruitful as Martin and Russell helped the hosts to a 3-1 win over Leeds United at Pride Park, before Conor Sammon struck an 88th-minute winner in a 3-2 victory away to Watford a week later to make it six points from six for the newly-appointed County boss.

November

November threw up McClaren's first defeat in charge as his charges went down 2-1 to QPR at Loftus Road.

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Nevertheless, Derby bounced back, collecting maximum points from their three remaining fixtures that month - including a narrow 1-0 win away to Bournemouth.

December

Sitting fifth in the standings at the start of the month, the Derbyshire-based outfit amassed 16 points from a possible 18 en route to second in the table - starting with a 3-1 victory away to Wigan Athletic, with Craig Bryson, Simon Dawkins and Martin pouncing in the opening 30 minutes to secure the win.

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Sammon then came off the bench to hit a 90th-minute winner in the 2-1 triumph over Middlesborough, before a 5-1 thrashing of nine-man Blackpool made it three victories in the space of one week for McClaren and Co.

Martin Paterson denied County an eighth-straight victory by earning Huddersfield a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day, but the Rams got back to winning ways on Sunday by beating Barnsley 2-1 at Oakwell to make it eight wins from nine since the defeat to QPR.

The days of upheaval and petitions seems a long time ago.