The 2022/23 season was always going to be one like no other for Derby County.
There was new ownership, new management and 15 new players - and that was all before September was out!
Memorable victories in League One came at Pride Park Stadium and on the road, whilst a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and the visit of West Ham United in the Emirates FA Cup brought with them welcome distractions from league action.
An incredible 19 game unbeaten, which ran from late 2022 into early 2023, saw the team strengthen their bid for a play-off spot but in true Derby County fashion, the outcome of the campaign would go right down to the wire.
Over the coming days, dcfc.co.uk will be looking back at the season in monthly instalments.
Here, we look back at what was an extremely busy September and October.
September
Due to international call-ups, September was a short one for the Rams on the field but that didn’t mean it wasn’t one full of activity off it.
Interim Manager Liam Rosenior was in place for the three Sky Bet League One matches, overseeing two defeats and one victory.
An action packed 3-2 loss over Plymouth Argyle opened the month. The Rams had taken a 2-0 lead in the first-half thanks to James Collins and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's goals but a dramatic second-half comeback from the Pilgrims condemned them to defeat.
A disappointing 2-0 loss on the road at Lincoln City followed, in what was the club's 5,000th league game, before a 2-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers at Pride Park Stadium with Conor Hourihane scoring twice in the second half to secure the win.
That victory over the Chairboys would be the last under the interim management of Rosenior as the Rams would choose to go in a new direction, appointing Paul Warne from Championship side Rotherham United.
Warne joined the club having overseen three promotions from Sky Bet League One with the Millers as well as one EFL Trophy triumph.
Richie Barker, Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington would all make the move from Yorkshire as part of the coaching staff to aid Warne in a new era at Pride Park.
Results
Sky Bet League One - Derby County 2-3 Plymouth Argyle (Collins, Mendez Laing)
Sky Bet League One - Lincoln City 2-0 Derby County
Sky Bet League One - Derby County 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers (Hourihane x2)
October
With eight games to oversee over the course of October, there was no easing his way into the job for Paul Warne.
Six Sky Bet League One fixtures, including a trip to high-flying Ipswich Town on a Friday evening, were on the agenda plus a couple of Papa John’s Trophy ties along the way.
And it was the perfect start for the new man as the Rams were able to seal their first away victory of the season with a 2-0 win over Cambridge United with James Collins scoring twice.
A 1-1 draw in Papa Johns Trophy action followed before Warne’s first game in the Pride Park dugout ended in a 2-1 defeat to Port Vale. Collins scored and saw red on a day which proved eventful in Derbyshire.
They returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion thanks to a 3-0 victory at Accrington Stanley - a game in which the home side missed two penalties - thanks to a double from William Osula and a Tom Barkhuizen goal before back-to-back losses against Manchester City Under-21s (3-1) in the Papa Johns Trophy and Ipswich Town (1-0) in league action followed.
Warne’s first month in charge rounded off with two games at Pride Park in two very contrasting matches. A dull 0-0 draw to Exeter City left Warne frustrated but his team responded with an action-packed 4-2 victory over Bristol Rovers to close out October.
All six goals against the Gas came in the first-half including a first career hat-trick for David McGoldrick, with James Collins also scoring on his return from suspension, but that’s a feeling the striker would get used to over the coming months.
Results
Sky Bet League One - Cambridge United 0-2 Derby County (Collins x2)
Papa Johns Trophy - Mansfield Town 1-1 Derby County (6-5 on Penalties) (Dobbin)
Sky Bet League One - Derby County 1-2 Port Vale (Collins)
Sky Bet League One - Accrington Stanley 0-3 Derby County (Osula x2, Barkhuizen)
Papa Johns Trophy - Derby County 1-3 Manchester City Under-21s (McGoldrick)
Sky Bet League One - Ipswich Town 1-0 Derby County
Sky Bet League One - Derby County 0-0 Exeter City
Sky Bet League One - Derby County 4-2 Bristol Rovers (McGoldrick x3, Collins)