Derby County season unravelled at point of Newcastle United, Steve McClaren saga | OneFootball

The Rams were cruising towards promotion in the 2014/15 campaign, but they fell away in the final months.

Derby County headed into the 2014/15 campaign off the back of heartbreak in the previous season's Championship play-off final, as they were beaten 1-0 by QPR at Wembley Stadium.

Bobby Zamora's 90th-minute winner saw the R's return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, while the Rams were forced to find their feet once again ahead of another tough term.

Steve McClaren had been the mastermind behind the East Midlands outfit's top-six push the previous year, and he wasted no time in making changes to his squad in the summer transfer window as Cyrus Christie and George Thorne were brought in permanently.

Jordon Ibe, Leon Best, Ryan Shotton and Omar Mascarell were signed on loan deals, with the latter coming in from Real Madrid after Thorne was all but ruled out for the season due to a knee injury sustained at a training camp in Austria just weeks after signing on with Derby.

Derby's 2014/15 season started positively but a problem soon occurred

The Rams knew that they were going to be one of the favourites following their unsuccessful play-off campaign, and despite losing their third game of the season, they quickly started to show their strength.

That defeat to Charlton Athletic proved to be their only one in their first 13 games, as McClaren's team climbed to the top of the Championship table by mid-October.

Derby continued to be a force of nature in the second tier, with a 5-0 victory over a recently promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers side further proof of how much quality they had across the pitch, and life in DE24 was going well.

However, by the time winter rolled around, question marks about their manager's future started to arise as Newcastle United struggled in the Premier League. The Magpies identified the former England boss as a potential suitor for the job after Alan Pardew was sacked.

But, the then 53-year-old was keen to focus on his task with the Rams. He said to BBC Radio Derby at the time: "I realise it is part of the game, but it's pure speculation.

"Derby are doing well, playing good football, are near the top of the Championship and challenging again."

He continued: "We have a job to do here and are in a very good position. I believe we will be challenging for a place in the Premier League. That is my job and that is what I am concentrating on.

"Over the Christmas period we have got back to where we should be after a tough week against Middlesbrough, Chelsea and Norwich."

Derby's season tailed off shortly after Newcastle's McClaren interest

After such an impressive start to the season, it seemed as though Derby were going to be involved in the fight for promotion all the way until the final day.

However, cracks started to form after a strong winter, and a 2-0 win over Charlton on February 24 proved to be their second to last at home in 2014/15.

The Rams won just two of their last 13 matches, sliding down the league table in the process, as their hopes of returning to the Premier League for the first time in seven years started to disappear in front of their eyes.

McClaren continued to try and prove his loyalty to Derby, but a 3-0 defeat against Reading in gameweek 46 saw his team drop out of the top six and down to eighth - missing out on a play-off place.

He called the speculation linking him to Newcastle "disrespectful", and he refused to resign as Mel Morris started to evaluate his options before eventually sacking the current Jamaica manager.

The ex-Derby boss moved to St James' Park soon after, as the Rams were forced to lick their wounds and prepare for another Championship campaign.