Derby County are believed to be targeting a move for Aston Villa coach John Terry as their new manager according to the Daily Mail. 

Phillip Cocu has had a season to forget so far this season, with the Rams currently sat bottom of the second-tier standings after their opening 11 matches of this year's campaign.

Derby haven't been anywhere near good enough in recent matches, and were beaten 2-0 by Barnsley at Pride Park at the weekend.

It means that they're now two points adrift at the bottom of the Championship table, and the pressure is firmly on Cocu heading into the international break.

The Daily Mail have claimed that Derby are one of the teams interested in appointing former Chelsea defender John Terry as their new manager.

It is also reported that Premier League side West Brom are also keen on a deal to appoint Terry, who is currently Dean Smith's assistant at Aston Villa.

Smith has previously revealed that he wouldn't stand in the way of blocking any managerial move for Terry, which could hint that his future lies elsewhere in the near future.

"I have no doubt JT will be a manager. When and where, I don’t know.

"If there was an approach, we'd go to him and get his thoughts before myself, Johan (Lange, sporting director) and Christian (Purslow, Chief Executive) spoke.

"At the moment, it's hypothetical. But our first port of call would be JT."

Derby are set to return to action after the international break, when they take on promotion-chasing Bristol City, in what is certain to be a tough test at Ashton Gate.

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The Verdict:

This could be a decent appointment.

I would be stunned if Phillip Cocu is still in charge of Derby by the time they return to action after the international break, as the Rams simply haven't been anywhere near good enough this season.

I originally thought they would be mounting a serious challenge for a top-six finish in the Championship this term, but for one reason or another, something just isn't clicking with Cocu in charge at the moment.

Terry doesn't have any managerial experience, but I could see him having a positive impact with Derby, and it would remind me a lot of when the Rams appointed Frank Lampard as their new manager a few seasons ago.

It'd be a shrewd appointment by Derby, and they'd do very well to land his signature amid interest from West Brom as well.