Derby didn't threaten a return to the top-flight in the early years of the 1980s, instead they all too often looked like they would drop down again and end up in Division Three.

John Newman took over from Colin Addison in January 1982 and with the help of former favourites Charlie George and Kevin Hector, both now back at the club, secured Derby's status for another season.

Hector scored his 201st and final goal in his 589th and final game for the club on the last day of the season, a fitting way to bring a great career to an end.

Nobody has played more games for Derby than the man known as the King, and only Steve Bloomer has scored more goals.

Peter Taylor returned to the Baseball Ground - minus Brian Clough - with Derby in trouble in November 1982 as attendances dropped and results were getting worse.

Their second win of the season didn't come until December, but a long unbeaten run from the end of January to the end of April secured their safety.

The 1983/84 season saw an altogether different problem surface.

The threat of relegation continued to hang over the Baseball Ground but the threat of extinction was growing by the week due to the club's financial difficulties.

In April the club went to the High Court and after much work behind the scenes, Derby were saved and the winding-up petitions lifted.

But on the field, there was no way back. The Rams ultimately finished third from bottom, five points adrift of safety, and nine years after winning the league they were in the third tier of the English game.

Nine years after winning the FA Cup, in 1946, the same fate had fallen upon the club.

Roy McFarland, a legend as a player, had taken over for the last nine games of the season but by then the situation was helpless.

McFarland remained at the club as assistant to new manager Arthur Cox ahead of the 84/85 season, Derby's centenary year, as the club looked to rebuild.

Cox steered Derby to seventh in Division Three, and with the opportunity to add more quality to his squad for 1985/86 he did the trick.

Arthur Cox marks promotion in 1986

The Rams finished third but there were no play-offs in those days so it was enough to earn them automatic promotion back to the second tier.

That season they took on the likes of Newport County, York City, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic - how times can change in 20 years.

And after taking Derby up once, Cox repeated the feat the following year as the Rams returned to the top-flight.

Bobby Davison, having contributed 17 goals to the first promotion campaign, added a further 19 this time around and with valuable contributions from Phil Gee (15) and John Gregory (12), Derby romped to the title.

They were promoted in their 40th game of 42 by beating Leeds United at the Baseball Ground, and clinched top spot on the final day with victory over Plymouth Argyle to go up with a six-point cushion over their nearest challengers.

Robert Maxwell celebrates promotion to the First Division in 1987

Robert Maxwell, who had helped rescue the club in 1984, took over as chairman, and the Rams began to splash the cash.

England internationals Peter Shilton and Mark Wright arrived - Wright for a record-smashing fee - and quickly became two of the finest players to pull on a Derby County shirt.

Mark Wright

Goals were hard to come by in that first season back up, though the Rams finished a comfortable 15th despite suffering a record-equalling eight straight defeats midway through the campaign.

To remedy that, the Rams broke the million-pound barrier for the first time with the signing of Welsh international striker Dean Saunders in October 1988.

Saunders added five goals in his first four games to quickly become a hit with the Baseball Ground faithful, and he ended his debut season with 14 in 30.

Derby finished fifth in the table, helped by memorable wins away to Manchester United and eventual champions Arsenal, but were once again denied European football due to the ban on English clubs imposed following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

The Rams needed to build on that but investment wasn't forthcoming and when Paul Goddard - the perfect foil for Saunders - was sold to Millwall in December 1989, it was a clear indication that Maxwell was cutting back.

They flirted with relegation before eventually finishing 16th, though they did enjoy a double over Manchester United.

Peter Shilton

Shilton and Wright starred in England's run to the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup as Shilton also became the world's most-capped international player during the tournament.

The turn of the decade was, once again, ushering in a turn in the club's fortunes.