CLEMENT NEEDS TO RECOVER, QUICKLY

PAUL Clement arrived at the iPro Stadium having shadowed Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Paris SaintGermain, and Real Madrid.

Yet Derby predecessor Steve McClaren could boast a similarly impressive coaching CV, and it did little to help him avoid successive failures to secure promotion for the Rams.

Eight of those who featured in this three-nil defeat were involved when Reading won by the same scoreline at the iPro at the end of last season.

That reversal capped Derby's dismal descent from topping the Championship at the start of last March to missing out on the playoffs come the final day.

Derby are now without a league win since Boxing Day, and are four points adrift of the automatic places. Failure threatens to become a habit if their form doesn't pick up soon, and ensuring that bad things don't come in threes for the Rams matters more than any test Clement faced as a number two.