When Derby County opted to appoint Phillip Cocu as their new manager in July after Frank Lampard's decision to take over at Chelsea, the club's supporters would have had every right to be excited about the Dutchman's arrival.

Having achieved a tremendous amount of success during his playing career, the 49-year-old led PSV Eindhoven to three Eredivisie titles before moving on to Fenerbahce in 2018.

With a reputation built upon the insistence of his side's playing attractive, possession-based football, Cocu would have been wanting to take the Championship by storm during the opening months of the 2019/20 campaign.

Yet despite bolstering Derby's squad by signing the likes of Matt Clarke, Kieran Dowell and Krystian Bielik in the summer transfer window, Cocu has struggled to adapt to life in England.

After kicking off the season with an impressive victory over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium, it seemed as if the Rams had made an immediate adjustment to life under the guidance of their new boss.

However, Derby then experienced a slump in form as they were only able to amass a total of five points from their next seven games.

Since their draw against Leeds United in September, the Rams have managed to pick up four victories on the bounce at Pride Park yet in doing so they have seemingly sacrificed their away record.

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Derby's defeat to arch-rivals Forest at the City Ground last Saturday was the fourth time that they have been beaten on their travels this season.

If the Rams are to have any chance of achieving a top-six finish next May, they need to pick up more points in their away games as they been dismal in recent weeks in these particular fixtures.

As well as being utterly outclassed by the likes of Hull City and Charlton Athletic, they looked devoid of ideas at times against Forest.

Whilst it would be naive to suggest that the Rams may be dragged into a relegation battle over the coming months, , they simply have to find a solution for their current form as a failure to do so could result in a frustrating campaign for their supporters.

In order to give his side more of a chance on their travels, Cocu may find it beneficial to alter his tactical approach.

Whilst the 4-2-3-1 formation has worked at Pride Park, Derby could be more suited to a counter-attacking set-up away from home which utilises the pace of Tom Lawrence and Duane Holmes.