Wayne Rooney has admitted that Derby County's chances of avoiding relegation are 'out of their hands'.

The Rams have endured a disastrous campaign in which they've struggled to pull themselves away from the bottom end of the Championship table.

Derby's troubles have really heightened in recent weeks with the genuine prospect of suffering relegation coming to light as the club continued to drift towards the bottom three.

Tuesday night saw the club suffer a 3-0 defeat against Preston North End, a result that has left them just four points above the drop zone with three matches remaining.

However with Rotherham United having three games in hand, Rooney admits that it's a nervy time for the Rams.

Speaking to Derbyshire Live, Rooney said: "We have to be realistic where we are at.

"Do I believe we can win the last three games? Yes, but we have to rely on Rotherham losing games. It is out of our hands.

"We just have to focus on Saturday, a huge game for us against Birmingham. All our attention will go to that game, and we will be watching with one eye closed the Rotherham game to see what the outcome of that is."

The verdict

It's certainly a worrying time for supporters of Derby County.

The Rams are genuinely in a precarious situation and given Rotherham United's fixtures in hand it seems that Wayne Rooney's side could be in a spot of bother.

The remaining weeks are going to be very interesting indeed.