Following their 12-point deduction last week, which had put them into minus figures, Derby now have a solitary point on the board after claiming a slender 1-0 home victory against Reading on Wednesday night.
In an encounter which saw 20 shots on goal between the two sides, Craig Forsyth’s looping header in the 33rd minute was enough to secure the win for the Rams, who are now seven points adrift of safety.
Wayne Rooney remains confident that his side can avoid relegation, especially if they can keep up their good run of form at Pride Park. Derby are the only team outside of the Championship’s top five who remain unbeaten at home so far this season.
The Rams are also unbeaten in each of their last four matches on home soil against Swansea, a run that includes three victories.
Had Derby not been deducted 12 points, then they would be sitting just inside the top half of the table, however they are rooted to the foot of the Championship and must work even harder to close the gap on safety, especially against sides such as Swansea who are hovering just above the bottom three.
Swansea looked as if they were beginning a revival under Russel Martin in September, as they had claimed three successive draws and then a 1-0 victory against Huddersfield Town. However, their unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of Fulham, who secured a 3-1 win at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night.
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Despite having 67% possession and controlling large spells of the game, the Swans were unable to cope with Aleksandar Mitrovic who helped himself to a first-half hat-trick, with Jamie Paterson getting on the scoresheet for the visitors.
Goals have been hard to come by for Martin’s men and they are one of only five Championship sides who have scored less than 10 goals this term. The Swans have also failed to find the net in their last two visits to Saturday’s opponents Derby.
The loss of Andre Ayew and Jamal Lowe over the summer has clearly had an impact, though Martin will be hoping new recruit Joel Piroe can add to the five goals he has already scored this season
