Seven defeats from eleven Championship games. One win to show. A defensive injury list that reaches four first-choice centre-halves. Ryan Nyambe did not dress it up when he faced the cameras after Derby County's latest setback at home to Stoke City.

"Obviously, you can see injuries," the full-back told BBC Radio Derby. "Then you lose games, confidence goes down. Those are the two main factors."

The Rams sit second from bottom of the second tier, and the damage done by their casualty ward is now visible in the most basic of ways: Nyambe, a right-back by trade, spent Saturday filling in as a centre-half. Sondre Langas, Matt Clarke, Craig Forsyth and Eiran Cashin are all sidelined, leaving John Eustace to shuffle the pack before a ball was even kicked.

Nyambe admitted he has played the position "about five times" in his career, yet framed his willingness to slot in as a collective responsibility rather than a personal sacrifice. "The gaffer asked me to step in so obviously I stepped in and took one for the team," he said.

The injury list lengthened further during the Stoke defeat when Lewis Travis limped out of the contest, another name added to a list that is already stretching Eustace's options across the pitch. Travis's exit leaves Derby's midfield options thinner ahead of a sequence of fixtures the club desperately need to use as a platform for recovery.

Nyambe was careful not to reduce the crisis to a single cause. Injuries explain the defensive disruption, but he pointed to confidence as a second wound that feeds the first. A squad that loses frequently begins to expect to lose, and the mistakes that follow become self-fulfilling. "Everyone needs to gain confidence somehow," he said, "whether it's next game we win the scruffy way, just get a win and then maybe it's a start for us."

That next chance comes on Saturday, a lunchtime trip to Sheffield United kicking off at 12:30. Nyambe called on the dressing room to resist any temptation to assign blame internally. "Let's not do blame games, it's all of us together, we're all letting ourselves down," he said. "There's obviously individual mistakes in games but we've all got to look at ourselves and as a team as well."

The message carries weight precisely because it comes from a player who has been asked to perform outside his natural position without complaint. Derby's problems, though, run deeper than personnel. With only one win from eleven games, the margins for error before the early-season picture starts to look genuinely troubling have all but disappeared.

Eustace, who has spoken publicly about maintaining calm in the face of Derby's winless run, now needs results as much as resolve. A victory at Sheffield United, however scrappy Nyambe acknowledged it might need to be, would at the very least give the squad something to build on. At this stage of the season, that is precisely the kind of foothold Derby are searching for.

"We all need to stand up and showcase what we're about," Nyambe added. "It's a tough league but I think we've just got to compete."

Frequently asked

Why are Derby County struggling in the Championship this season?
Derby have suffered a severe injury crisis in defence, with Sondre Langas, Matt Clarke, Craig Forsyth and Eiran Cashin all sidelined. Lewis Travis also picked up an injury against Stoke, further weakening the squad. The combination of mounting defeats and growing casualty numbers has knocked confidence across the dressing room.
Where are Derby County in the Championship table?
After eleven games Derby sit second from bottom of the Championship, having won only once and lost seven times.
When is Derby County's next Championship match?
Derby travel to Sheffield United on Saturday, with kick-off at 12:30.