Former England boss Steve McClaren swept in at Derby to replace Nigel Clough, arriving full of optimism and with the promise of attractive football.
And the ex-Rams midfielder, who had overseen short stints at FC Twente (twice), Wolfsburg and Nottingham Forest as he looked to rebuild his reputation following the end of his ill-fated England reign in December 2007, began brightly at Pride Park.
He was named the Championship’s manager of the month in December 2013 and quickly turned Derby into promotion candidates.
A third-place finish secured a 2014 Championship play-off tilt, but that ended in the heartbreak of a 1-0 loss to QPR in the final at Wembley.
Derby started the 2014-15 campaign in fine form but nose-dived spectacularly, McClaren’s men winning just two of their final 13 fixtures to drop out of even the play-off picture. And that run of poor form cost McClaren his job, with his departure confirmed in late May 2015.
McClaren went on to spend nine months in charge of Newcastle before being sacked in March 2016, and then returned for a second stint at Derby in October 2016 which led to a second sacking five months later.
He was most recently dismissed by QPR, in April 2019.
