Jim Smith had to smile when asked to sign an order form this week to replace a window damaged in a break-in at Derby's training ground. It left him musing that Arsene Wenger and the new breed of designer-coach would never countenance such diversions, but perhaps there was also welcome reassurance in the fact that not everyone was trying to break out of his troubled club.

Monday's defeat at Newcastle dropped Derby into the bottom three and raised Smith's profile several rungs as the media sought answers to their troubles. The fact that he was a news item at all was a recommendation for Smith's achievements over the past three seasons.

After finishes of 12th, ninth and, most recently, eighth, Derby were not expecting to be at the scrappy end of the table and the manager admits that there was an August feeling, one fraught with pitfalls, that they were established in the Premiership.

The campaign began well enough with a draw at Leeds. Nor would there have been too heavy an inquest when the first home fixture saw Arsenal depart with all three points. Since then storm clouds have amassed: of the next five teams to pull up at Pride Park only Everton failed to exercise their victory salutes.

As if that were not disconcerting enough the next sequence of games will leave the Derby fan feeling about as comfortable as Stan Collymore in an Aston Villa shirt. After today's engagement with a Chelsea side who have just proved themselves the equals of Milan, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Leeds follow in quick succession.

If you were to assume that all this would leave Smith, or the Bald Eagle as he is known, sore-headed this week you would be wrong. Even in his 60th year and after 28 seasons in management he has not learned how to adopt an unfriendly stance with the media, and his characteristic chirpiness refuses to desert him in times of crisis. Besides, he reckons the fixture computer has dealt the club the lucky break they have been seeking.

"If you look at the past couple of seasons we have managed to do well against the leading sides and have struggled against the so-called lesser teams," he said.

"We have to remain upbeat and I'm certainly not expecting us to go down. The lads are working very hard, but they're getting a little bit uptight about it all and we've been trying to get them to relax a bit more."

His most vociferous critics - and to be fair the supporters are showing little inclination to accept the rash suggestion of the chairman Lionel Pickering to head down the A52 to a rival club beside the Trent should they be unhappy with events - suggest Smith could relocate to a higher floor, in a general manager, put-out-to-grass kind of role.

That would pave the way for a younger man, such as Steve McLaren whose departure for Manchester United in February has been cited as one of the reasons behind the Rams' decline.

Conjecture of that kind takes no account of Smith's enduring determination and conveniently overlooks the fact that it was his muck-and-nettles style of man-management, allied to a perceptive eye for a transfer bargain, that gave Derby a place back in the top flight.

Asked whether he still has confidence in Smith, Pickering responded "of course, of course", but otherwise was reluctant to comment. "It's what we do on the pitch that counts, not what I say. It's still early in the season, there are loads more games to play and whatever I say will be misconstrued by others."

Smith remains hopeful that if he can bring in three or four new faces and clear out some of the dead wood then the skies will brighten. He admits the departures of Paulo Wanchope and Igor Stimac left the team lacking a physical presence, which Colin Hendry will address as soon as protracted negotiations bear fruit. But he also points out that Stimac played only 14 times last season and that the problem with Wanchope, the unorthodox Costa Rican, has been in not replacing him so far.