Powell was handed the Rams’ reins after Nigel Pearson’s suspension.
The Derby County job is Chris Powell’s to lose following Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Cardiff City, according to Talksport pundit Danny Murphy.
Powell stepped into the hot-seat at the eleventh hour, with Nigel Pearson suspended by the Rams pending an internal investigation.
Pearson only took charge in the summer, but failed to build on last season’s fifth-place finish and was banished with the club 22nd in the Championship.
Widespread reports claim the former Leicester City manager will not return to the iPro Stadium, leaving Derby on the lookout for their fourth full-time boss in less than a year-and-a-half.
Murphy, though, believes Powell will get the nod if his side can put together a good run.
“What a great ready-made replacement, by the way,” Murphy said on Wednesday’s Jim White show. “(He was) treated so harshly at Charlton – did alright at Huddersfield as well.
“Super guy, but don’t think that he can’t be tough just because he’s such a nice fella. He’s got a steely side – you wouldn’t want to cross him.
“It’s his to lose now, if he goes on a four-five game winning streak I think they’ll give him the job don’t you?”
Powell, who played for Derby in the late 1990s, was brought back to the club by Pearson in May, having been sacked by Huddersfield six months earlier.
The 47-year-old played with Murphy at Charlton Athletic, while the pair’s England careers briefly intertwined.
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