Derby County are still dreaming of promotion via the play-offs despite a poor second half of the season costing them their chance of winning automatically.

As things currently stand, the Rams are sitting in 7th place in the Sky Bet Championship and trail 6th placed Millwall by one point with superior goal difference.

Their next two games are crucial: firstly, they face 5th placed Middlesbrough at Pride Park and then they have their game in hand against automatic promotion hopefuls Cardiff City.

This could be the make or break period in their season.

Either way, lots of things are going to change in the next month or two.

Gary Rowett knows that the next month is the most important of the whole season and he will be trying to motivate his players for the run-in.

Here are three things that could change at Derby County by this time next month.

If Derby County fail to make the play-offs or lose in the semi-finals, you can expect a massive clear-out from Gary Rowett soon after the season ends.

There are number of players who have not impressed in the second half of the season and they could be on their way out of Pride Park.

Derby chairman Mel Morris has said that Derby will not spend a lot this summer but reliable football journalist Alan Nixon believes that Rowett will be backed with funds this summer and he will reunite with new chief recruiter Darren Robinson, who he worked with at Birmingham.

If Nixon is right, then Derby could be splashing the cash this summer.

By this time next month, the promotion dream will either be very much alive or dead in the water.

Derby will either fail to make the play-offs or be scrapping their way towards a massive day at Wembley in late May.