How Derby intend to attack the Championship after bouncing back from the abyss

Derby County are back in the Championship and, after the euphoria and wild celebrations of Saturday, the full focus is on further rebuilding this famous old club.

Just a little under two years after one of the Football League’s founder members was on the brink of extinction, Derby’s first promotion in 17 years has returned them to the second tier.

It is an uplifting revival story, and Saturday’s scenes will have been a poignant moment for lifelong supporter David Clowes, whose rescue mission allowed this all to be possible.

Records have tumbled under manager Paul Warne, the King of League One: Derby have secured their highest points total in a season (92) and most away wins (13).

They have scored a league-high 24 goals from set-pieces and have the best defensive record.

While it has been a team effort, there have been many standout performers including Player of the Year Curtis Nelson, defender Eiran Cashin, winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith [the League One Golden Glove winner].

Warne has also proved a very shrewd appointment, sticking to his principles and providing vast experience through the arduous 46-game slog of a season.

In turn, he will point to the support of Clowes and his “best mates”: the backroom staff consisting of Richie Barker, Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington.

Warne now has four promotions out of League One, and the next challenge for the manager with the trademark bobble hat is to sustain a big club in the division above.

So what happens next?

Season ticket sales for next season are nearly over 20,000 and there is a sense that, after two years of restoring the club’s foundations, this is another new beginning.

Derby return to the Championship with an intention to consolidate in what will be a year of transition. Yet the message is clear: they don’t want to be there to make up the numbers.

Recruitment meetings will start on Tuesday, while next week Warne will meet with the players out of contract as he prepares his squad for the 2024/25 campaign.

After chasing the dream under previous owner Mel Morris, there will be no repeat of the extravagant spending that ultimately forced the club towards the abyss.

Shrewd recruitment process

Derby will aim to be sensible, with strengthening in key areas and major chunks of money put towards shrewd Premier League loans.

Corey Blackett-Taylor’s loan from Charlton will become permanent after Derby agreed a high £500,000 loan fee in January.

Talks will start soon with Cardiff over as permanent deal for midfielder Ebou Adams, who has excelled on loan.

Because of their past financial issues, Derby have not completed a permanent cash deal since Polish winger Kamil Joswiak signed from Lech Poznan in September 2020.

Building an infrastructure

Promotion will also allow them to make further improvements to their infrastructure, including the sporting intelligence and recruitment departments.

There is optimism over a bright future, and a realisation of how far they have come since Clowes completed his £55 million buy-out.

Indeed, two dates in recent history now seem even more significant: the first was June 9 2022, the day when Clowes made his first move to Quantuma, the administrators.

Chris Kirchner, the disgraced American businessman, had walked away and Clowes had genuine fears the club was heading for oblivion.

The takeover was then officially completed on July 1.

Clowes is the reluctant owner who could not let his beloved club die, and he just wants Derby to succeed.

Less than 24 hours after the chaos of Saturday’s promotion celebrations, Clowes was in Mickleover to watch Derby County Women.

On Monday night, he will be at Pride Park to watch the men’s under-21s play Everton.

Since his arrival, the relationship with the Football League has been vastly repaired with the help of chief executive Stephen Pearce.

Trevor Birch, the EFL’s chief executive, was at Derby on Saturday after being invited as a guest by the club.

It is remarkable to think that just under two years ago, Derby came out of administration with only five players on their books.

Docked 21 points, and selling off the crown jewels of their academy, it was a horrible time and Clowes has since revealed they were five days from going bust.

Derby have provided proof that any club on their knees can always bounce back.