RESULTS on the road will need to improve if Derby County are to move forward again this season.
The Rams have been edging in the right direction. Tenth last season was a climb of two places on the previous campaign and the aim now is to be genuine contenders for the top six.
They flirted with the top six at times last season thanks to a strong home record.
A shortage of points on their travels, however, kept the play-offs beyond reach.
Derby's struggle on the road was not exclusive to last season. On only two or three occasions in the past dozen seasons has their away form been something to shout about.
A club record 12 away wins was recorded by George Burley's team in 2004-05. They made the play-offs and remain the best Derby side since Jim Smith's "Entertainers" secured successive top-10 finishes in the Premiership in the last 90s.
Twelve away wins also helped Billy Davies' team of 2006-07 reach the play-offs and eventually win promotion.
Two seasons ago, 2011-12, the Rams' 27 points on the road came from seven wins and six draws. Not a spectacular return but a healthy one.
For much of the rest of the time, Derby have found life tough away from Pride Park.
Although away performances in general last season deserved better, the statistics were damning.
Only three clubs won fewer away games and only three clubs collected fewer away points.
Derby won four of their 23 away fixtures. They scored less than a goal a game, 22, and conceded 40.
They average only four away wins per season in the last six seasons and average 12 away defeats per season in that time.
Since promotion was secured in 2007, Derby have played 134 away games in the League and won 24. They have lost 76.
Not a new problem, then, but one that needs attention.
Derby proved to be something of an anomaly on the road last season as some of the best away performances seen in Nigel Clough's four and a half years as manager went unrewarded.
I can recall with ease a list of games in which they should have taken more points.
They held the upper hand for long periods of the draws at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City, who went on to win the Championship.
A victory at Cardiff looked a real possibility. Derby led through Conor Sammon and had a perfectly good goal by Chris Martin wrongly disallowed before they gifted their hosts a late equaliser.
A 2-1 defeat at Hull was harsh and a 3-1 defeat against Birmingham City at St Andrew's annoying because Derby bossed the match for almost an hour only to crumble.
Three points appeared to be safely in the bag when goals from Jeff Hendrick and Jamie Ward, from the penalty spot, built a 2-0 lead against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough before the home side battled back for a point.
This season on the road needs to be more about points than plaudits.
Both would be nice but points are more important.
Derby were too open too often on the road.
Although their positive approach should be applauded, points that should have been collected slipped away and the chasm between home and away form left them bobbing around mid-table much of the time.
How many teams, if any, came to Pride Park and "went for it"?
Certainly not the three promoted sides – Cardiff, Hull and Crystal Palace.
They displayed stubborn determination to keep Derby at bay and it worked. Palace and Hull left with narrow wins, Cardiff a draw.
When Derby pierced the defensive shield provided by Mile Jedinak and got the better of Palace's back four, they found goalkeeper Julian Speroni in faultless form in the Eagles' 1-0 victory.
Hull returned to Humberside celebrating a hard-earned 2-1 win and Cardiff dug deep for a point in a 1-1 draw. The visitors had to play the final half an hour with 10 men after Craig Noone was sent off.
Such resilience is needed to be successful in the Championship. Such an approach saw Derby go up in 2006-07 Remember all those 1-0 wins?
The key is what happens in both penalty areas.
Derby must do better in both areas on their travels.
