Derby County: Nigel Cough can't have predicted Nottingham Forest betrayal and was right to back signing | OneFootball

Jamie Ward spent four years at the Rams before leaving for the club's bitter rivals.

Nigel Clough's transfer policy was one that proved to be highly successful during his time at Derby County.

The son of legendary Rams and Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough, he was exceptional at picking out talent for low fees and developing them into excellent players who went on to play huge roles at Pride Park in the years following his departure.

The likes of Chris Martin, Craig Bryson and Richard Keogh were all signed by the current Mansfield Town boss during the early 2010s, going on to form the spine of the team over the course of the next few seasons, and there was yet another genius loan signing made by Clough who proved to be vital throughout the start of the decade.

Jamie Ward was brought to Pride Park in February 2011 from Sheffield United for the rest of the campaign, with his deal at Derby becoming permanent at the end of the campaign.

Jamie Ward had huge success at Derby

The January transfer window in the 2010/11 season had been a tough one for the East Midlands club, with Kris Commons leaving for Celtic, while they failed to sign Martyn Waghorn and Conor Sammon, two players who would eventually join at very different points in the 2010s.

However, capturing Ward proved to be pivotal, and it was a move that Clough was extremely happy with: "We've been in the hunt for a striker with pace, and we believe we have just that with Jamie.

"We see him playing a part in the coming seasons for Derby County."

The then 24-year-old made an excellent impact on his new side, scoring five goals and picking up two assists in his first 13 appearances as the Rams finished 19th in the Championship.

He may have hoped for a little bit more in front of goal in his first permanent season in black-and-white, with the winger registering just six assists in 39 league games, finding the back of the net just four times. However, he offered Clough something that he did not really have out wide at that point; pace.

The 2012/13 campaign proved to be his best in a Derby shirt, with Ward operating both on the wing and behind the striker. He had 20 goal contributions from those positions, despite missing nearly half the season through injury.

The sacking of Clough just a year later did not seem to affect the former Blade too much, as under Steve McClaren he seemed to excel as a more out-and-out winger. The addition of Johnny Russell on the opposite flank proved to be vital, and the two widemen complemented each other excellently.

Seven goals and five assists were enough to help Derby to the play-offs, with the Rams reaching the final before falling at the final hurdle against QPR - a result that proved to be the beginning of the end of Ward's Pride Park career.

Derby fans may still feel betrayed by Jamie Ward

Despite signing a new two-year deal with the Rams in 2013, the ex-Northern Ireland international knew that his time in black-and-white was coming to an end in 2015.

Fitness issues saw Ward miss out on nearly half of the 2014/15 campaign, and it looked likely that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, but not many would have expected his next club to be Derby's bitter rivals, Nottingham Forest.

The 29-year-old signed a four-year contract at the City Ground, a place where he had controversially scored against the Reds in 2011 for the Rams as his former side came back from a goal down to win 2-1.

It was a decision that will still frustrate those on the west side of the A52 all these years later, as it perhaps felt like a betrayal after all the commitment and years he had given to Derby - and one that Clough cannot have foreseen when he welcomed him to Pride Park.

However, it was a move that nearly really paid off, and he struggled to find a way into the first-team consistently, playing only 62 times for the club, while also going on loan to Burton Albion, Cardiff City and Charlton Athletic before leaving Forest at the end of his contract in 2019.

Ward's time in the East Midlands is a lot more fondly remembered by those on the black-and-white side and Clough was right to back him to succeed at the club, but there will always be a feeling of regret and upset over how his time at Pride Park ended.