With the board’s backing for Norwich City manager Alex Neil this week, the Canaries boss can breathe a sigh of relief who could have potentially been packing his bags rather, than preparing for this weekend’s fixture.
Neil's side are currently sixth in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League last campaign, but losing four games on the trot has riled up the Canaries supporter who have failed to see their side win this month.
Before this abysmal run, the Canaries were top of the table ahead of high fliers Newcastle United and it seems like the players will need whipping into shape if they are to beat a resurgent Derby County side.
The Rams look back to their old ways since the re-appointment of Steve McClaren, and have won three games on the bounce which has seen them soar up the table.
Despite Neil being given the board’s approval, he still under pressure to deliver results for a very unhappy bunch of Norwich fans.
Football League World Writer, Ashley Williams identifies the Norwich side that must beat Derby on Saturday…
GK – John Ruddy
The experienced goalkeeper has come in to the Norwich fold in recent weeks for the inconsistent Michael McGovern.
However, Ruddy has done himself no favours for having the same treatment as McGovern after a stuttering performance last weekend.
It was a questionable call to opt to stay on his line and rely on the men in front to deal with the deep throw that led to QPR’s early penalty and Martin Olsson’s red card.
He needs to be more commanding and organise his back-line - cutting out mistakes that are costing his side at the moment.
LB – Robbie Brady
The Irish international is to continue slotting in for left-back Olsson for the next three games following his dismissal.
However, he did not have much luck with his display.
He failed to anticipate the flight of Sebastian Polter’s header as Conor Washington swept a corner away from close range.
Prominent in the final quarter with QPR retreating ever deeper, but he needs to sharpen up his defensive abilities against a strong Derby attack force.
CB – Sebastian Bassong
Many have pointed the finger at Bassong that it was his fault on the two occasions that QPR scored last weekend.
He was beaten in the air by Polter for the first QPR goal.
Then equally culpable alongside Ryan Bennett in failing to track his run down the channel for the second goal.
His starting place must be on thin ice and he needs to start performing for his boss.
CB – Ryan Bennett
An equally poor performance alongside his central defensive partner, Bennett is an important member of the squad and needs to lead his side to a much anticipated victory that they have been without for over a month.
RB – Russell Martin
The Canaries veteran has found this season difficult and looks out of his depth currently.
Last weekend, he was increasingly over-run in the second-half.
Obviously morale is low at the moment and Martin will need to use his experience to lift his team mates in a much-needed win on Saturday.
RW – Steven Naismith
The Scottish player gave Norwich a lifeline in the final 10 minutes last weekend, but with the Canaries playing pretty much the whole game with ten men, Naismith had to become restricted with his creativity.
CM – Wes Hoolahan
Hoolahan is expected to come back into the first-team after Tettey was extremely poor last weekend and does not work efficiently with Dorrans.
Norwich were lacking creativity last weekend and Hoolahan is not short of that.
CM – Graham Dorrans
Many have called on Dorrans to dictate the tempo of the game, and in his fairness he could not do this when they were down to 10 men against QPR so early on.
Dorrans needs to step up his game as his place is on thin ice and the supporters want to see a performance similar to his outstanding display against Nottm Forest in September.
LW – Jacob Murphy
Last weekend was Murphy’s best display in a long time.
He was unlucky after slamming a curling long range shot against the top of the bar in a rare moment of attacking intent from the visitors and picked out Steven Naismith for his headed goal.
ST – Nelson Oliveira
The Portuguese forward was one of Norwich’s better players last weekend and is expected to retain his place up top.
He tried to hold up the ball and create openings for supporting players and was a decent focal point in the first-half.
ST – Cameron Jerome
The striker’s goal drought draws on and despite his energetic runs and willingness to create an opening, he should be scoring more.
The partnership of Oliveira and Jerome could prove to be the ice-breaker for the pair, with Oliveira holding up the ball and feeding Jerome into goal-scoring positions.
Norwich fans… Is this the side to break your losing streak? Are you going to the game at the weekend? What is your prediction? Let us know in your thoughts and opinions below!