Derby sunk as Ipswich steady the ship

But we are not talking, here, about the goal difference between victorious visitors and vanquished home club at Pride Park. We are talking managers. While Derby have got themselves into an embarrassing funk in this season of struggle and strife with panic changes at the helm, George Burley's position as boss of the East Anglian club remained rock solid even when they bottom of the Premiership before Christmas.

The situation might have given County's directors pause for thought as dozens of frustrated fans bayed at the doors of their impressive stadium on Saturday evening after witnessing precisely the sort of disjointed, disorganised and thoroughly depressing performance you might expect from a team without a leader. That's not to belittle Billy McEwan, the third - albeit temporary - manager, who wore his Derby heart on his sleeve as he paced the technical area, gesticulating and urging his players to answer the crisis call.

Sadly, nothing has really changed with the departure of Jim Smith or, most recently, Colin Todd.

Derby spurned scoring opportunities, missed a 49th minute penalty by too casual Deon Burton, and continued to display suicidal defensive errors that Ipswich exploited with much aplomb through Marcus Bent, Sixto Peralta and Martijn Reuser to climb out of a relegation place.There seems little hope for Derby's security while Ipswich continue their Houdini act.

It was their fifth victory in six League games and Ipswich's upwardly mobile effort stems largely from a feeling of mutual respect between the players and Burley which remained intact even in those awkward pre-Christmas months.

The bond was all the more secure because Burley has long enjoyed the support and understanding of his board at Portman Road.

His skipper Matt Holland said: 'It is extremely important to have a bond thoughout a club and in the years George Burley has been at Ipswich it has gradually improved. It takes time for a manager to get things organised exactly as he wants.The prime example is Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.Three years into his reign at Old Trafford, people were calling for his head, then he won a trophy and look what's happened since. I don't know about Derby getting what they deserve for letting Smith and Todd go. I do know that in George Burley's first season Ipswich were relegated, but the directors still felt he was the right man to take the club back up - and that proved correct. Maybe there is a case for giving a manager a bit longer even if a club has to go down, rebuild and start again.'