Derby County's hopes of surviving relegation suffered a major blow last night following a 3-0 defeat to Preston North End at Deepdale.

The Rams have now lost four games on the bounce, with goals from Ben Whiteman, Ched Evans securing a big home win for North End and leaving Derby's Championship status hanging by a thread.

Their fourth successive defeat leaves them sitting 21st in the league table, four points clear of Rotherham United in 22nd.

The Millers, however, have three games in hand on Wayne Rooney's men, and a win over Middlesbrough this evening could see Paul Warne's side move to within only a point of safety.

Naturally, Derby fans' nerves are jangling. Their side look bereft of confidence in every area of the pitch, and it is hard to see where the goals, let alone the points will come from in their bid for survival.

Niall Horan is arguably one of the more famous Derby County supporters out there, and the former One Direction singer took to Twitter last night to react to his team's latest defeat.

The message was simple - he's heartbroken at the way Derby's season looks set to pan out.

Derby face Birmingham City in what is shaping up to be a huge clash at Pride Park on Saturday afternoon. They then travel to South Wales to face Swansea City, before hosting fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the season.

The Verdict

Derby are skating on such thin ice, and you just have to wonder whether Rotherham will capitalise or not.

Derby seem to be giving the Millers so many chances to punish them, and Paul Warne's side have some winnable games still left to play.

Derby look a beaten team whenever they go a goal down, and that fragility cannot bode well as they look to escape the drop and keep their place in the league.