Derby County are very much dreaming of a Championship return at the end of this 46-game slog of a season, with the Rams beating fierce League One rivals Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at the weekend to tighten their grip on that coveted second automatic promotion spot.

Derby are now four points clear of the Trotters after leaving them in the dust at Pride Park, the fans packed into the home end in love with the set of players put together under Paul Warne after not-so-distant memories of the club nearly folding had troubled them.

Still, there's a whole plethora of talents from years gone by that are still very much in the hearts of those with connections to the promotion chasers who continued to shine even when times got ugly.

Casting an eye over those who have donned Derby white heroically in the 21st century, here is what an ideal Rams player would look like based on bits and pieces taken from top performers over the years…

1 Brain – Will Hughes

First up, possessing a great footballing brain is key to making it at the highest standard of football.

Will Hughes has seen that first hand since waving goodbye to Pride Park in 2017, going on to perform in the Premier League competently with both Watford and Crystal Palace.

The ex-Derby number 19 was never blessed with being able to score goals by the bucket load from the centre of the park but still managed to win supporters over with his stylish and calm displays all the same allowing the Rams to tick.

Hughes would bow out from Derbyshire tallying up 30 goals and assists in total from 187 appearances, with the now 28-year-old former youth product then relocating to Watford and then Palace in an aim to make it in the top-flight.

The 6 foot 1 midfielder is still in and around the Eagles' first-team set-up to this date, amassing 21 appearances this season as a relied-upon option who rarely puts a foot wrong.

2 Head – Richard Keogh

Although the centre-back trio at Pride Park currently in Sonny Bradley, Curtis Nelson and Eiran Cashin are often as solid as a rock, Derby fans will still hold Richard Keogh dear for his expertise in helping the Rams shut up shop in the past.

Keogh, who accumulated a staggering 356 appearances in the heart of defence for Derby before moving on to Huddersfield Town in 2022, was known to be a battler when it came to winning his fair share of aerial duels.

The decorated Rams servant would win 5.9 duels per game on average during the 2017/18 campaign – which saw Derby flirt with promotion to the top flight – with 3.5 aerial duels also managed that same season per match to show off his ability to be imposing and forceful.

The Irish centre-back would also chip in with 12 goals across his lengthy stay, immortalising himself as a hall-of-famer in the process.

3 Vision – Craig Bryson

Derby really have been blessed with silky central midfielders in recent memory, with current Manchester United flop Mason Mount starring on a loan spell from Chelsea for the Rams once upon a time alongside the aforementioned Hughes.

Yet, Craig Bryson's name could shine the brightest out of them all as an immensely talented former star.

Now retired at the age of 37, the Scotsman would notch up an impressive 246 appearances in the East Midlands with his eye for scoring and picking out a teammate with an assist second to none.

Bryson would be etched into Derby history for his pivotal contributions during the 2013/14 season, coming away from his fruitful 46 games that campaign with a combined goal and assist haul of 30.

In his prime, there was no one more trusted to come up trumps for Derby than this sparkling gem.

4 Strength – Fikayo Tomori

Going on to star in Italy with AC Milan in the present, Fikayo Tomori won't have forgotten his humble beginnings at Pride Park back in 2018 – the loan switch proving to be a formative experience that has since set him on the path to stardom.

Tomori's adoring supporters that same season he was on the books at Derby will still fondly recollect the ex-Chelsea's man time with the club too, with the now 26-year-old showcasing his brute strength to nullify any attackers in this path in the Championship even as a youngster.

The 6 foot 1 centre-back would pick up ten clean sheets from his 44 appearances, winning six duels on average per contest.

5 Hands – Scott Carson

Amazingly still on the roster at Manchester City as a reserve figure at 38 years of age, Scott Carson's hay day as a goalkeeper was arguably at Derby.

The former England international would be everpresent over the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons in the East Midlands, picking up a respectable 36 clean sheets along the way.

Commanding a certain level of authority in between the sticks as a shot-stopper who had tasted top-flight football before relocating to Derby, Carson was the textbook definition of a safe pair of gloves during his celebrated time at Pride Park.

6 Pace – Nathaniel Mendez-Laing

The first player listed from Warne's current selection of promotion chasers, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's pace from down the channels this season have been an effective calling card for his team in clutch moments.

Mendez-Laing's strike away at Exeter in the middle of February demonstrated his frightening burst of pace, racing through on the counter-attack with venom to slot home Derby's second goal in Devon.

Warne and Co have been blessed with the fact their ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers man knows where the back of the net alongside being rapid, the 31-year-old onto nine goals for the campaign alongside 18 assists.

7 Right foot – Tom Lawrence

Tom Lawrence's golden right foot, whilst routinely hugging the left-hand flank for Derby, would catch so many teams off-guard when the current Rangers man was still at Pride Park.

His knack of scoring blinding strikes at crucial times would see him accumulate 37 goals from 185 games in Rams white, often attempting the audacious and having it pay off.

Derby fans will still hate the fact Lawrence would leave Pride Park on a free transfer after being so important, but they will always cherish how impactful he once was.

8 Left foot – Louie Sibley

Derby fans will know that there could soon come a time where Louie Sibley is the next on the conveyor belt of homegrown talents to leave the building, with the 22-year-old's adaptability at filling gaps in the team making him a much-loved asset for Warne.

Sibley has starred down the left wing this season where he feels most comfortable, scoring against Port Vale earlier this month from this spot to help the Rams thump their lowly opponents 3-0.

Whilst the likes of Mendez-Laing and James Collins have stolen the headlines for the League One side, Sibley has been equally as crucial in Derby striving to win promotion, with seven goals and three assists thus far.