In January 2012, John Egan was thrown in at the deep end. He had just joined Crystal Palace on a month’s loan from Sunderland. Dougie Freedman had promised him a couple of games and he was true to his word.

Matt Ritchie fired a second-half double as Newcastle climbed back to the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a 4-0 home win against Rotherham.

Derby did just enough to justify their position as Sky Bet Championship favourites when grinding out a 1-0 win over Rotherham at Pride Park.

Andy Reid will miss the friendly game against Serbia at the Aviva Stadium next Wednesday.

Just a fortnight after Derby boss Steve McClaren hailed Andre Wisdom’s leadership qualities, the on-loan Liverpool defender also showcased a potentially costly ability to slavishly follow orders — from his car.

Derby 5 Brentford 0

Derby County manager Nigel Clough says Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni should only comment on the form of Conor Sammon and Jeff Hendrick and not discuss their club status.

Derby 3 Peterborough 1

Derby 3 Huddersfield 0

Keith Andrews has been ruled out of Ireland’s friendly against Poland, increasing the prospect of a debut call-up for midfielder Jeff Hendrick.

Nigel Clough’s Derby halted Leeds’ revival and stretched their unbeaten home run in the npower Championship to seven matches thanks to second-half goals from Jake Buxton and Ben Davies, with Irishman Conor Sammon scoring their opener. Paul Green responded for Leeds.

Ian Holloway could hardly have wished for a better start to his new job as Crystal Palace boss as a Glenn Murray hat-trick helped the Eagles soar to the top of the npower Championship with a 5-0 thrashing of Ipswich.

Derby 4 Blackpool 1

Welford Road, the home of Leicester Tigers and the biggest club rugby ground in England, has been axed as a potential venue for the 2015 World Cup.

Leicester chairman Peter Tom has criticised the decision to scrap Welford Road as a potential 2015 World Cup venue.

Welford Road, the home of Leicester Tigers and the biggest club rugby ground in England, has been axed as a potential venue for the 2015 World Cup.

Brighton manager Gus Poyet intends to enjoy his side going top of the Championship but knows it is too early in the season to get carried away.

Derby 5 Watford 1

Derby have signed striker Conor Sammon from Wigan for an undisclosed fee.

Andy Reid, Irish football’s forgotten man, could still cut it in the Premier League.

Derby 0 Stoke 2

Derby 2 West Ham 1

Derby 1 Leeds 0

Leeds manager Simon Grayson takes his side to Nottingham Forest for tonight’s npower Championship clash at the City Ground with both clubs planning to pay their respects to Gary Speed.

TODAY attention turns towards next summer’s European Championships and Ireland’s first presence at a major tournament for ten years.

REAL MADRID joined Barcelona in guaranteeing their qualification for the Champions League knockout stages as two Cristiano Ronaldo goals gave Jose Mourinho’s men a 2-0 victory at Lyon last night.

Nigel Clough has signed a new contract to remain as Derby manager until the summer of 2015, the club have confirmed.

CHRIS HUGHTON praised Jean Beausajour for providing the spark to give his Birmingham side a vital 2-1 win over Leicester in yesterday’s midlands derby.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve McClaren had blamed off-field “squabbling” for his side’s poor start in the npower Championship this week and they responded by going down without a fight at Burnley.

IRISH duo Ian Harte and Noel Hunt missed penalties as Reading crashed to a 2-1 defeat at home to Barnsley in the Championship on Saturday.

Emile Sinclair scored twice as League Two minnows Macclesfield topped the bill on a night of Carling Cup upsets with a 2-0 win over npower Championship Hull at the KC Stadium tonight.

Aston Villa have completed the signing of midfielder Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan on a five-year contract.

The Republic of Ireland's Wes Hoolahan missed a penalty for Norwich at Loftus Road as QPR saw their lead at the top of the npower Championship cut to four points.

NEWCASTLE celebrated their promotion back to the Barclays Premier League with a 2-1 win at home to Sheffield United last night.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has no fresh injury worries ahead of the Premier League clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

READING scored what is believed to be the fastest goal in the FA Cup proper when Jimmy Kebe put the Royals ahead against West Brom after just nine seconds in their 2-2 draw in the FA Cup fifth round at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday.

Derby 1 Birmingham 2

Birmingham striker Christian Benitez is available for the FA Cup fifth round clash with Derby at Pride Park tomorrow.

WEST BROM leapfrogged Newcastle to go top of the Coca-Cola Championship after they claimed a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe last night while Newcastle suffered a 3-0 defeat at Derby.

West Brom leapfrogged Newcastle to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship after they claimed a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe while Newcastle suffered a 3-0 defeat at Derby.

Leicester 0 Newcastle 0

Derby 1 Nottingham Forest 0

Middlesbrough’s hopes of retaining Adam Johnson look slim after he asked to be allowed speak to Manchester City, despite manager Gordon Strachan’s insistence the winger is going nowhere.

Leeds’ reward for their shock win over Manchester United is a trip to Tottenham in the fourth round of the FA Cup.