Derby have been in the promotion fight for the last three seasons, but have failed to reach the promised land in all attempts.

Last month, former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson was appointed as the new Derby manager.

Pearson inherits a healthy squad, and the club have a good financial backing as well as one of the biggest fan bases in the Championship. But the Rams squad does need work, so what does the new Derby gaffer need to change at the iPro Stadium in order to capture promotion and a return to the Premier League?

Nigel Pearson must reinstall the passion into the Derby side.

As a Derby supporter, I personally believe that there weren't enough players in the squad last season who played for the badge, only a handful of players did so.

Recent reports have surfaced linking Jake Buxton with a move away from Derby, he is the kind of player that Derby should be keeping as he wears his heart on his sleeve, and will always fight for the Derby badge. Richard Keogh, Craig Bryson and Will Hughes are other examples of players who show passion for the club.

Pearson has previously shown he's a fiery character, and he won't tolerate his side not giving 100%, I do think he is the right manager to get the side showing the amount of passion they should be.

While passion is important, it is not everything. Talent is a massive factor in winning promotion, because if you're not good enough, you won't win football matches.

The Rams have a good squad, but it needs work, the team was too inconsistent last season and some players where just not good enough. Both Scott Carson and Lee Grant frustrated fans with goalkeeping errors last season, so a new goalie would make an improvement to the side.

Cover is needed at right back as Cyrus Christie is the only recognised right back in the whole squad, however he is a talented player and arguably one of the best full backs in the league.

A position Nigel Pearson may want to strengthen is up front, despite Chris Martin's good goal scoring ability, the team requires a quick, agile striker that can contribute to the attacking style of play that Derby fans demand.

I think Nigel Pearson needs to bring in his own recruitment team, and it's likely he will. Derby spent over £20m last season, and some of the signings just didn't perform.

Bradley Johnson was singled out by many fans, as his debut season in a Rams shirt didn't match the outstanding one he'd had in the previous season at Norwich, nor did it reflect the fee that Derby paid for him.

Other signings such as Alex Pearce, Nick Blackman and Abdoul Camara weren't given the game time to perform, with Pearce and Camara still awaiting their first league starts for Derby. Blackman did play, but he was used as a wide player instead of as a striker where he'd performed well for Reading.

Personally I think Andreas Weimann could've been a great player last season, but similarly to Blackman he was played out wide in a position that didn't play to his strengths.

Pearson must re-assess the squad to see where his players' strengths lie, and also re-assess the recruitment team because a fair few of the signings made last season didn't work out.

Derby fans... Do you agree that this is what Nigel Pearson must change? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!