Derby County manager Steve McClaren calms promotion talk

Derby County manager Steve McClaren has once again played down talks of promotion after today's 2-1 win at Barnsley.

The Rams have now won eight of their last nine games in the Championship, with the only dropped points during that run coming against Huddersfield Town on Boxing Day.

They are second in the table, level on points with Burnley and four adrift of leaders Leicester City.

"There's a still a long way to go but, as I've said before, if someone said you'd be where you're now [when he took over in September] I'd have said 'You're crazy, you're barking mad'," the former England coach, who succeeded Nigel Clough, told reporters.

"The players deserve the credit; everybody's responded from day one, which we've been very fortunate with because sometimes with a change of management it can take time.

"I thought we controlled the game completely, then all of sudden from nowhere they have a shot and it's a goal and then it's chaos and mayhem, which is the Championship. The players dug in and showed great resilience and I think that's a big word and a key word that we'll be using over the next few months."

Derby entertain Wigan Athletic at Pride Park on New Year's Day.