Former Nottingham Forest defender Kenny Burns believes that Derby County have just enough to stay up after watching the Reds beat their East Midlands rivals on Saturday.

Both sides started the season with top six ambitions but it hasn't really happened for Phillip Cocu's side and the weekend defeat has left them in the bottom half and seven points away from the play-offs.

And, European Cup winner Burns couldn't resist a dig at the Rams with his assessment of them in his regular Nottinghamshire Live column today.

"As good and controlled as Forest were, I thought Phillip Cocu’s side were poor. With better players up front we might have been punished, Jack Marriott’s a bit like a headless chicken at times, and it showed when he missed one or two.

"Make no mistake about it, Derby have got problems to resolve – I think they’ll probably just about survive this season, I hope they do anyway."

[freshpress-poll ]

That was the second time Sabri Lamouchi's side had beaten the Rams this season, with Forest 3-0 winners when the sides met in the League Cup back in August.

The verdict

Burns enjoys winding up Derby fans and there's no doubt this will have annoyed some supporters, even though you can't imagine that he really thinks Derby could be in a relegation battle.

In truth, there wasn't much between the sides on Saturday, although Forest probably edged it and importantly scored when they were on top in the second half.

So, they have the bragging rights again and Burns has taken the chance to have a little dig but you expect this sort of stuff from both sides in derby encounters.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.