Derby County manager Wayne Rooney has revealed their result against Blackburn Rovers tomorrow afternoon will determine how his will view their recent draws, speaking to the club's media team ahead of this tie at Pride Park.

The Rams have started the season well considering their lack of squad depth, but are currently bottom of the second-tier table after receiving a 12-point deduction for their entrance into administration last month and are in real danger of going down to League One, even without a potential further docking of points.

With this punishment, they are six points adrift of safety in the Championship as things stand and despite brave performances both at home and away, defending well and conceding just 11 goals in 14 league matches, draws have been a real hindrance to a side desperately needing victories to get themselves out of the relegation zone.

Their last win came against Reading at the end of last month, drawing four consecutive second-tier games since and failing to turn ties into victories, a real source of frustration for Rooney and his men whose bravery could be in vain at the end of the season if they can't start getting wins on the board.

A further nine-point deduction for financial breaches will make this especially important - but recent ties may not be a huge source of regret according to the Rams' boss - providing they can win all three points against Tony Mowbray's Rovers at the weekend.

Speaking ahead of this game, he said: "I was frustrated with the Preston and Luton games because they’re ones I felt we deserved to win but didn’t.

"Coventry, over the 90 minutes, was a fair result - but now we have a very important game coming up against Blackburn and I feel it’s a big opportunity for us to get three points.

"If we do, then it will make those draws feel a bit better. If we don’t then I can imagine we will look back at those draws and think they’re missed opportunities for us."

The Verdict:

They desperately need to start winning games, even though they are still making ground on the likes of fellow strugglers Hull City and Barnsley, because 21st-place Cardiff City are likely to climb up the table shortly with a new manager bounce and this will make it more difficult for the Rams to survive.

There's no doubt they have shown enough to stay afloat in the Championship. The fact they would be in 15th above the likes of Nottingham Forest, Swansea and Bristol City perfectly represents this - but they can't afford to think about that now in their quest to remain in the division.

Of course they should use this as a great source of encouragement, but the grim reality is the fact they are in a major relegation battle and without raising their game further to claim more wins, they are only heading one way.

Their attack has to be a key area for improvement despite showing encouraging signs in their 2-2 draw against Luton last week - and Colin Kazim-Richards nearing his return to full fitness can only be a good thing for a side that have clearly missed the former Turkey international.

Ideally, they would have brought in another striker during the winter window if they had the capabilities to do so. So if they can have new ownership in place and are allowed to make signings in January, this should be an area at the top of the East Midlands outfit's priorities.