Derby County chief executive Sam Rush has admitted that he was 'shocked' by the club's collapse in the final months of the Championship season.

The Rams spent the majority of the campaign in the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League, but a run of just two wins from their final 13 games - both against the bottom two clubs in the division - saw them slide down to eighth and miss out on the playoffs altogether.

As a result, the club parted company with manager Steve McClaren earlier this week, although Rush has hinted that the team's performances were "not the only reason" behind the decision amid reports linking the former England boss with the Newcastle United job.

"The ending to the season was a significant shock to us all. At the beginning of March we were top of the league, so inside 60 days to be in eighth place that was certainly a surprise to us all," Rush told the club's official website.

"The spell of six games in 20 days during March was the time that really did it for us in terms of the league table. Performances were not the only reason that the decision has been made as well and there are a variety of reasons why we have reached the decision.

"The ownership group invests a large sum of money into this football club; around £10-20m per year. We need to make sure that from top to bottom everyone is pulling in the same direction as we aim to achieve Premier League status."

Real Madrid assistant manager Paul Clement is the favourite to take over the reins at the iPro Stadium.