Derby County have had a lot of very decent players over the years, and some of them have been real tough nuts that were not to be messed with on the pitch.

Some players, often defenders, wear their heart on the sleeve and Pride Park have been accustomed to many of these.

Brian Clough held the reigns at Pride Park for many years, and one of his mantra’s was that every player would fight for the shirt.

Many of Derby’s hardest ever players come from that era, but not all of them.

In the last ten years, Derby have had a period where they have looked ready for promotion, but not quite able to do so.

One sort of player they have missed is a proper hardman who can lead by example on and off the pitch.

Here, we look at the three hardest Derby players over the years.

Do you agree, or can you think of tougher players? Let us know in the comments below.

Ted McMinn was a winger who was tricky, pacy and entertaining, but more so, he was tenacious.

McMinn often had battles with Stuart Pearce, and he spent many derby matches tormenting the man they call ‘Psycho’.

Seth Johnson made a great career at Derby and before moving to Leeds, he was tipped to be the future of England’s midfield.

It didn’t work out for him, but when at Derby, he showed glimpses of world class quality – tenacity and toughness were some of these qualities.

Steve Bloomer is one of Derby’s biggest legends, and although realistically only folklore and stuff written in the early 1900’s tells the story, it is obvious that Bloomer was an iconic battler.

The toughman scored over 300 goals for the Rams.