Rams leave Jewell fuming April 12 2008
Derby manager Paul Jewell was left to sift through the wreckage of another "unacceptable" performance as the Rams suffered further pain and shame in an already wretched season.
Six different scorers were on target for Aston Villa at Pride Park in an embarrassing 6-0 rout, handing Derby their worst home defeat of the campaign.
Jewell no longer has any excuses for his players who at least put up a fight for 25 minutes, but once they conceded the first goal, heads inevitably dropped.
From that moment, there was only going to be one winner, with the Rams ultimately handed six of the best in a season when they have already taken ample punishment.
"We get a goal against us and we collapse like a pack of cards, which has happened all season. They just fall apart," remarked Jewell, more in a considered way than any kind of rant.
"We can't lie down and die like we did today. It's unacceptable, and as great as the supporters have been, they won't accept that.
"As I've said before, there is no hiding place in this Premier League.
"We're okay when things are not too bad, but when things are going against us, we don't have enough leaders.
"When it's 4-0, it's clearly difficult. But I'm more interested in what we're like when we're 1-0 down.
"That's when you need people to roll their sleeves up and get on with it.
"So the sooner we get people with bigger hearts in the team, more knowledge of the game, then the better we will be."
Derby were the better side early on, but then Roy Carroll let a 25-yard free-kick from Ashley Young slip through his fingers in the 25th minute, and that was it, game over.
Ninety seconds later John Carew rifled home a 20-yard drive that took a slight deflection off Gabriel Agbonlahor following a poor clearance from Carroll.
Then in the 36th minute came a contender for goal of the season with a 50-yard wonder strike from Stiliyan Petrov after Carroll had again been forced to clear under pressure.
Despite the best efforts of another sell-out crowd, there were further Villa goals in the second half from captain Gareth Barry, Agbonlahor and substitute Marlon Harewood.
Jewell refused to condemn Carroll, despite the major role he played in this latest humiliation.
"The goalie has had a bad day," added Jewell.
"Everybody has bad days, everyone makes mistakes, like (Aston Villa goalkeeper) Scott Carson had a bad day at Wembley."
That was a clear reference to Carson's performance in the crucial European Championship qualifier against Croatia last year.
Jewell added: "That's life, that's what happens. But it's what happens around us that I'm concerned about because everyone seems to buckle under the pressure, the task in hand.
"When the game was 2-0, you could see the difference in class and quality, and Villa's strength and power that we patently do not have."
Villa boss Martin O'Neill, whose side are still in the hunt for a European place for next season, offered a degree of sympathy to Jewell.
"Coming from an ex-Nottingham Forest player, and I hope they take this in the right manner, but Derby are a Premier League club," said O'Neill.
"A lot of clubs pretend to be, or feel as if they are, but they have the crowd potential, history and tradition behind them, and I'm quite sure they will come back.
"I wouldn't tell Paul his job. He knows exactly what to do, and I am sure he is looking at the players and the whole club and trying to put things in motion as we speak."
With 10 goals in their last two games, Villa's recent blip appears to be a thing of the past.
O'Neill added: "Somebody suggested a couple of weeks ago maybe our displays against Sunderland and Middlesbrough meant we were already looking forward to our holidays.
"But in the Premier League, it is too tough to start thinking about holidays six or seven weeks in advance. Far from it.
"There's plenty to play for, and the players genuinely believe that.
"We've a task on to still catch Everton, but we have to go there, so we can't afford one slip. We must win every game.
"Although we've tough matches - starting with Birmingham - we've the capability and goal power."