Apart from the running commentary on the first team squad fitness saga, there was shock news that two Rams players had experienced life-threatening scares due to heart conditions.

The stories moved the Rams’ long-running injury and illness tribulations to a new level and (as manager Nigel Clough had said), the first concerns were for the health and well being of the guys themselves, with football rendered much less significant than their long-term welfare.

Academy starlet Mark O’Brien had undergone heart surgery to correct heart valve malfunctions that were revealed during a routine medical check, and Jay McEveley literally had a heart-stopping moment whilst under general anaesthetic during surgery on his fractured cheekbone.

Just 16 years old and Republic of Ireland Young Player of the Year, O’Brien now has several months of careful recuperation before he can get back into the training scheme. All at RamZone wish Mark a good and untroubled recovery and very best wishes for his career.

Jay revealed that he woke up from his cheekbone surgery in intensive care to be told that his heart had stopped for two minutes during his operation. Scary stuff. He had a relaxed heart rate that gradually slowed and halted, which caused alarm at first among medical staff.

McEveley recovered with no ill effects apparent from tests; the player was soon raring to get back into training with the Rams’ squad and was declared fit enough to be included for selection against Coventry City.

Jay will wear a ‘Phantom of the Opera’ protective mask in action to keep his cheekbone safe but it’s also good to know that he has a stout heart beating in there beneath the facial camouflage

News this week was otherwise sparse but the club advised us that Morley Hayes (Hotel) has been appointed as a ‘preferred partner’ of DCFC. It has 4-star facilities, restaurants, golf, hospitality and leisure facilities; Rams’ President and CEO Tom Glick said it was ‘a Premier venue’. Go on, Tom, be a devil - give us a Premier team to go with it.

The clash with Coventry City became important because of Derby’s poor returns on the road – home wins are vital if the team is currently unable to stand up and be counted away from home.

The disappointing reversal last time out at Pride Park Stadium against QPR made the televised Friday night game against the Sky Blues a ‘must win’; the Rams’ needed to avoid going into the upcoming international break in the relegation places of the Championship table.

 Nigel Clough was able to welcome back illness victims Dean Leacock and Rob Hulse to the starting line-up and the improving Paul Dickov partnered Hulse in attack. Paul Green returned and Clough’s preferred midfield trio of Savage, Pearson and Green started the game together for the first time since mid-September. Clough named a full complement of 7 substitutes for a change, including Miles Addison.

A reasonable crowd of 26,500 populated Pride Park Stadium, though the sparse away contingent of less than 650 Sky Blues die-hards conveyed the current disaffection that Coventry’s poor run has engendered among their fanbase, alongside the television ‘armchair supporter’ factor.

Derby’s gate was still over 5,000 in excess of the Trees’ Saturday home game against Bristol City. Only Newcastle’s gate and the top six clash between the Foxes and Albion were higher than the Rams’ Friday Sky-televised fixture during the Championship weekend.

Derby started briskly and took the game to City but fell behind straight away. It was a trademark soft goal, gifted to Leon Best as Coventry managed to sustain possession near Derby’s penalty area for what proved one of the few occasions in a deteriorating first half. Stephen Bywater confounded his manager by wafting a feeble punched clearance right into a danger area - 15 yards out but straight back to Best, who had stuck the initial header into a six-yard box melee.

Bywater really should have guided the header to safety via a more convincing, wider clearance - or behind for a corner. Clough had recently said that Bywater could be among the top six English keepers…perhaps a tenuous claim, which his keeper made look decidedly more so as Best simply stuffed Bywater’s inviting clearance beyond the Derby custodian to put the Sky Blues 1-0 ahead.

It wasn’t one of Stephen’s best nights with one or two more mediocre punches but no other errors were serious enough to receive such harsh punishment.

Derby endeavoured to fight back though their play was stilted and real chances were virtually absent. Shaun Barker, in the wars yet again and having his head bandaged from an early clash (which the referee dozily played on through at first) was denied a clear penalty when fouled by Ward. That was another piece of dozy refereeing entirely typical of how officials have seemed to judge penalty area incidents when Derby attack these days.

The game trundled to a mediocre first-half conclusion with a low, minor rumbling of booing from home fans that were watching their team losing at home again. It had been a rebuilding sort of half, with Leacock and Barker back together in defence, Dickov and Hulse resuming what looks to be a promising (if temporary) partnership and Green and Pearson attempting to get readjusted to the pace and physicality of Championship football after injury.

Matchday minutes were essential to get everyone firing on all cylinders again and it was unreasonable to expect full-on performances from the returning casualties.

Derby managed to get more of a grip on the game after the break and showed good heart to turn the tide their way, coming from behind to win the game and clinch three much-needed points. They gave City some of their own medicine, scoring straight after the restart as the busy Dickov sent an inviting low ball into the penalty area for Rob Hulse to thump home with delight.

It was a classy goal and a reminder of how important a fit and alert Hulse is to the side and how ready and able he is to convert good service into goals. The game got a little feisty and Coventry weren’t giving up without a fight, even if the referee had presumably been trying on some goggles ready for the upcoming 3D-TV season, given his foggy, unresponsive perception of some of the challenges enacted out in normal full colour and full-blooded style on the pitch.

Derby became energised with Pearson doing rather more than his usual motorised box-to-box inconsequential sprinting for once, and Paul Green’s energy complementing Savage’s tenacious but purposeful presence. Some football was being played, at long last. On the hour, the scampering Dickov set up Hulse for a second, vital goal with another good delivery that Hulse chested down to steer confidently home.

Then straight after Derby took the lead, there was some payback for Rams fans as they witnessed Savage hacked down by Clarke. The daft-haired Welshman treated Rams and Sky TV fans to a most theatrical roll, the challenge having nonetheless caused Savage a nosebleed. The referee had to sort out a crowd scene as Coventry reacted but it was a clumsy tackle and a second yellow card offence for the City defender, who was given his marching orders.

How sweet it was to witness Robbie stirring up the opponents, rather than Rams players as we’d seen on past, irritating occasions! Coventry didn’t lie down but the territorial advantage was with Derby and they ploughed on in search of their rewards. Croft replaced Green and immediately won a penalty when felled in the area, pursuing Teale’s centre.

After all the frustrations about non-awarded penalties, Hulse then proceeded to squander a precious chance to wrap the game up (and be the first Rams’ player in over 13 years to claim a League hat-trick) with a feeble spot-kick strike that Konstantopoulos saved comfortably! The game was far from safe because of that miss but Leacock and Barker had battled through to restrict Coventry’s opportunities.

Miles Addison made a loudly welcomed cameo appearance as a substitute and Rams fans had to endure a few nervy moments before the points were won in a tense climax with the 2-1 victory.

The win took Derby away from immediate danger of falling into the Championship drop-zone and gave supporters a relaxed weekend; the international break would further aid manager Clough’s endeavours to get more of his walking wounded back into contention for first team action. It had been a gutsy comeback and the returning players had made a difference.

The Rams can take heart from a strong, winning second half performance with high-quality goals as they fought back to show some pride and passion to reward their expectant fanbase.

Derby depart to Holland during the international fortnight; they’ll have a training break and will play a friendly with ADO Den Haag. Manager Nigel Clough will then anticipate having yet more players to choose from upon the resumption of the Championship programme. Then Derby must set about sorting out their awful away form, starting with the Swansea fixture in two weeks’ time.

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RamsWeek 45 last season saw Derby fans still ‘waiting for the great leap forwards’ as they made welcome progress in the Carling Cup but faltered in the Championship after their promising run of better results.

The Rams took a 2-0 lead in the cup-tie at Brighton & Hove Albion within 32 minutes through Villa and Ellington, despite Brighton’s energetic start. Albion clawed a goal back with a soft, headed goal before the Rams asserted themselves. Villa  - effective in the Carling Cup if only sporadically in the League - rapped in two more goals for a hat-trick to give Derby a 4-1 passage and a clash with third division Dirty Leeds in the next round.

Centre forward Rob Hulse collected the October Championship Player of the Month with 5 goals in 4 games and Paul Jewell had been in the running for the manager’s award, which was claimed by Cardiff’s Dave Jones.

Derby’s good run in the Championship came to a resounding halt with a 3-0 defeat at Reading. The home side dominated proceedings and Derby’s fragile defence was no match for Noel Hunt and Kevin Doyle.

It was only Derby’s 2nd defeat in a dozen games and though manager Paul Jewell felt his revamped side was making progress it still seemed quite a way off any serious challenge to the top six, with the side camped in mid-table and very much ‘a work in progress.’