50% of Derby fans polled unimpressed with key aspect of Rowett’s management style

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Derby County boss Gary Rowett draws mixed views over his style of football.

According to a poll conducted on social networking site Twitter, only 50 per cent of the Derby County supporters who participated believe the team are playing an entertaining brand of football.

The Rams hired Rowett at the back-end of last season, and his remit for this campaign would have been to improve performances on the pitch and fight for a place in the Championship’s top six.

While many supporters felt a play-off position was a little ambitious following a mediocre campaign last term, Rowett’s side have arguably overachieved as they currently find themselves in the top six.

Despite being on a poor run of form with just one win in their last nine Championship games, Derby have a game in hand and, with only eight fixtures remaining, still look a good bet for a top six spot.

Having said that, one criticism of Rowett’s tenure at Pride Park thus far has been the style of football and half of those who voted believe the team have not entertained on a regular basis.

Derby fans were aware of the style of football Rowett’s teams usually produce, having faced his former club Birmingham City over the past two seasons, and on occasions the Blues have come out on top.

There seemed to be an expectation of the team sitting back, soaking up pressure and countering in devastating fashion. At times the Rams have excelled, winning 3-0 away from home on three separate occasions.

But since the New Year, opponents have seemingly wised up and in turn decided to sit back, prompting Derby to force the issue somewhat, resulting in a glaring lack of creativity and goals in recent weeks.

Derby have managed to score just 11 goals in their last 10 league games, and in four of those they have drawn blanks including successive 0-0 draws with Bristol City and Millwall; a far cry from the glut of goals the fans were treated to during Steve McClaren’s reign.

In Tom Huddlestone, Joe Ledley and George Thorne, the lack of pace in midfield has been evident, while the likes of Tom Lawrence and Andreas Weimann have been frustratingly inconsistent.

Regardless of where Derby end up this season, the team needs big improvements and Rowett needs to adapt somewhat as, without success, the current style of play could soon turn fans away.