Derby County manager Wayne Rooney has insisted that the club will not be dragged back into a Championship relegation battle this season.
The Rams' 1-0 defeat away at fellow struggles Coventry on Saturday means they are now 19th in the Championship table, six points clear of the bottom three.
That defeat at St Andrew's means that Rooney's side have won just one of their last five games, having previously enjoyed a promising run that had seen them pull away from the relegation zone.
However, it seems Rooney is confident that despite that, Derby will not be looking nervously over their shoulders in the next few months.
Speaking about his side's current position in the second-tier standings following that loss, the Rams boss was quoted by The Daily Mail as saying: "We have to pick ourselves up. Moving forward, we have to be at our best in terms of energy, game management and bravery. If we are not, we will lose games.
"I'm not silly and I know this run of form can't continue. We have to get back to picking points up and winning games.
"I said after taking over, we will not be in the bottom three at the end of this season but we do have to perform better. It's a challenge. We have to stand up and be accountable but knowing the players, I am sure we will get through a mini-slump and get back to winning games."
Next up for Derby is a trip to Oakwell to face in-form Barnsley on Wednesday night, with Valerien Ismael's side targeting a play-off place following a run of seven straight wins.
The Verdict
This is a big challenge for Rooney so early in his managerial career.
Having got this team into some strong form, the Derby boss now has to find a way to get back to that to that sort of level, so they do not get dragged back into that relegation battle.
You do feel as the Rams have a squad that ought to be capable of doing that, something they have already shown with their previous run of form under Rooney.
Never the less, Coventry's position in the table means this was something of a missed opportunity to put some real breathing space between themselves and the relegation fight, and the fact that they do not have many more chances to do that may be something of a concern.
