3/1 To Win
Today marks a year to the day that Gary Rowett swept through the doors at Derby County.
A lot has happened in that time. Progression has been evident on the pitch and off it, the 44-year-old continues to mould his Derby County.
Back in January, the boss penned a new three-and-a-half year contract and we asked him what his top five games in charge of the Rams had been.
Here's a recap of what he said..
Derby County 4-2 Fulham – 4th April 2017
Matej Vydra scored the only goal as Rowett won his first home game in charge against QPR four days previously to the visit of Fulham, and it was on that Tuesday night that the Rams demonstrated their attacking potential under the new boss.
David Nugent took the lead with a superb hat-trick, with Johnny Russell adding a fourth just after the hour and it was the second of a three-game winning run as the Rams’ resurgence under Rowett continued.
Derby County 2-0 Nottingham Forest – 15th October 2017
After a heavy defeat against Bristol City, Derby embarked on a run of three successive draws before the meeting with Nottingham Forest in the East Midlands Derby.
Vydra stole the show by opening the scoring after just 24 seconds, before Nugent doubled the lead after a delightful assist from the Czech after the break.
Pride Park was bouncing all afternoon and the win kick-started a run that would elevate the Rams into the Championship play-off places.
Leeds United 1-2 Derby County – 31st October 2017
Out of all the wins that Rowett has accumulated so far in his time at the club, this is the one that required the most character from his team.
After going behind just seven minutes into the action at Elland Road, Derby battled hard to get themselves back into the game in the second half.
The pressure paid off when a brilliantly worked move ended with Sam Winnall tapping home, just three days after he grabbed a late winner at Carrow Road against Norwich City.
The on-loan striker resides in Leeds and he made no mistake from the penalty spot eight minutes after equalising when presented with the opportunity to send his neighbours home miserable - and the Rams back to Derbyshire with the three points.
Middlesbrough 0-3 Derby County – 25th November 2017
A big day for one man in particular. Vydra firmly established himself as one of the Championship’s leading lights this season with a stunning hat-trick to lead the Rams to victory at the Riverside Stadium for the first time since 2000.
The forward added another strike to his personal Goal of the Season competition with a superb opener, before a coolly-converted penalty and a neat finish after a mistake from Darren Randolph.
Malcolm Christie scored twice on his debut the last time that Derby managed to beat Middlesbrough on their own patch, and another hoodoo came tumbling down when Steve Bruce’s Aston Villa visited in December…
Derby County 2-0 Aston Villa – 16th December 2017
This was a statement victory.
Despite the visitors dominating possession and having far more shots over the course of the afternoon, Rowett’s side always seemed to be in control of proceedings, even before they were gifted an opener from a wayward Glenn Whelan pass.
Andreas Weimann took full advantage after being played through by Vydra, before Johnny Russell finished the job in added time to send Derby to within six points of Cardiff City in second place.
What are your standout games from Gary Rowett's first year in charge of the Rams? Join the discussion on Twitter by heading to our official account: @dcfcofficial.
