Derby owner Mel Morris took a massive gamble back in October when he appointed Steve McClaren as Rams boss, but now he's reaping the rewards.

Nigel Pearson is now a distant memory as Derby recorded their fourth consecutive win at home to Norwich on Saturday, their fifth since McClaren's return.

The Derby gaffer has recorded 5 wins from his first 7 games, losing just once, which identically matches the opening seven games of his first spell in charge in 2013.

After his opening seven games, and the Rams' upturn in form, there is little doubt that Steve McClaren is the man to get Derby to the Premier League, whether it's this season or over the next few.

No manager has come closer to getting Derby promoted to the top flight than Steve Mac, who in his first season in charge guided the Rams to the play-off final.

As a Derby fan, I believe that there is no other manager better suited for the job.

Since his exit in 2015, Derby have had three different managers in charge of the first team, and none of those three really motivated the team and got the team playing 'The Derby way'.

Paul Clement lost the dressing room and fell with the board, Darren Wassall did the best he could but the team lacked fight, and Nigel Pearson's reign was a train wreck from start to finish.

But Steve McClaren came into the club, inheriting a team which lacked motivation, fight, and passion for Derby County and has changed the whole feeling around the club.

If you'd have asked any Derby fan during Pearson's time in charge which players they wanted out of the club for good, the chances are they'd have said Carson, Ince, Johnson, Baird, Bent, Christie and a few others could've made the list, but those players I've just listed have been some of the best performers since McClaren's return.

The fact that in seven games, Steve McClaren has turned a side on it's knees to a side playing good football, beating teams like Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday shows his great managerial ability.

McClaren has galvanised his group of Derby players, and has got them fighting again.

Tom Ince and Darren Bent look their old selves again, and Bradley Johnson is another player who's benefitting from the 'McClaren Effect'.

It's not just man management that has got Derby winning games again.

A change in formation and tactics has been a major factor in Derby's revival, McClaren has reverted back to the 4-3-3 formation that did so well in his first spell in charge, it's also the formation that the players are used to as Clement used it last season, and it works so much better than Pearson's 4-4-2.

McClaren has also implemented a more direct, attacking style of football at the iPro, which is what fans wanted to see and to their frustration didn't see under Clement, Wassall or Pearson.

Steve McClaren has brought the Derby team back together, reinstalling the passion and belief into the players, and has done it within 7 games.

I believe that if he can dig us out of the mess we were in in 7 games, given a season or two he could really build something special, and take Derby County back where we belong, the Premier League.

Derby fans... Do you think Steve Mac will get us to the top flight? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!