Derby County had a very busy summer as Phillip Cocu looked to build a squad capable of challenging for promotion and one of his top priorities was to bring Matt Clarke back to the club.

The centre-back spent the previous campaign at Pride Park on loan from Brighton and he excelled. Whilst the Rams couldn't sustain a top six push, Clarke starred in defence and won the club's Player of the Year award.

So, bringing him back was a no-brainer and it appeared a great bit of business for the club.

However, this season hasn't gone to plan at all for Derby, although Clarke, whilst not hitting the heights of last season, hasn't been a major problem.

But, a return of six points from 11 games, which leaves Cocu on the brink of the sack and his side bottom of the league, shows what a disastrous position the club are in.

The switching between a back four and a three doesn't seem to have helped the big defender and he doesn't appear to have had the same levels of trust from Cocu.

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The Dutch coach left Clarke out against Blackburn earlier in the season and he was the man chosen to go off as the boss changed system against Barnsley at half-time in the recent loss to Barnsley.

For many, the left-footer is still the best defender at the club and a reliable performer at this level but like all of his teammates, he hasn't found his best form so far.

Clarke will hope to get back to his best once the season resumes after the international break and a change in manager may be the spark to get his, and Derby's season, really started.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.