Paul Jewell has stopped using the lift at the hotel he is temporarily staying at because he is sick of people asking him if he is going down. Relegation may have long seemed inevitable for Derby County but if they keep shooting themselves in the foot in this manner, their fate may be sealed quicker than any Barclays Premier League club before them.

For the fourth time in Jewell’s seven games in charge so far, Derby paid the price for conceding a late goal. Against Newcastle United, it cost them a rare victory. Against Bolton Wanderers last night, as in previous games against Sunderland and Liverpool, it cost them the draw their efforts deserved. “If it wasn’t so serious it would be hilarious,” Jewell, the manager, said.

On this occasion, Stelios Giannakopoulos was Derby’s nemesis, although, once again, Jewell’s players had only themselves to blame as they momentarily lost concentration with just seconds left. With the game seemingly destined to finish goalless after Bolton had squandered a succession of chances, not least through Kevin Nolan — who was guilty of one of the misses of the season — Jussi Jaaskelainen launched the ball hopefully upfield.

It should have been bread and butter for the Derby defence but with Claude Davis inexplicably failing to push out with the other defenders, Giannakopoulos, a substitute, was played onside and coolly lifted the ball over the onrushing Lewis Price before stroking it home for his first league goal for almost two years.

As Giannakopoulos wheeled away in celebration, kissing Howard Webb, the referee, in the process — “He probably thought he was one of our players,” Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, joked — Price and Davis became embroiled in an angry exchange that continued in the dressing-room.

“Obviously words were said and voices were raised in the dressing-room, but I’d be disappointed if they weren’t,” Jewell, whose misery was compounded by a knee injury to Jay McEveley that could keep the left back out for the rest of the season, said. “At least it shows they care. Emotions are high because people want to do better than we are.”

Jewell hopes to complete the £2 million signing of Emanuel Villa, the Argentine striker who plays for UAG Tecos in Mexico, tomorrow and will also take Laurent Robert, the former Newcastle United winger, on trial. But it will take more than these two to transform Derby’s ailing fortunes, even if the commitment and determination of their players against Bolton could not be faulted. For most of the first half, they were the better side and had three good chances in two minutes, but, perhaps unsurprisingly for a team who have managed only three goals on their travels, they spurned them all.

In fairness to Derby, Jaaskelainen was in fine form. The Bolton goalkeeper had already thwarted Craig Fagan once when he tipped a header from the Derby striker over the crossbar. When Michael Johnson rattled the bar, it looked like being another one of those days for Derby, although Bolton were just as profligate.

Nicolas Anelka had claimed in the build-up to the game that it would not be a punishment if he had to stay at the Reebok Stadium, but it is easy to understand why the France striker is hankering for a move to Chelsea or Manchester City, even if Megson tried to deny that talks between the clubs are under way.

None of Bolton’s best chances fell to Anelka — his only real opportunity was a 20-yard drive that was tipped on to the bar by Price — and instead the forward had to watch forlornly while his team-mates blundered repeatedly. Nolan was the most culpable. The Bolton midfield player had already missed a couple of gilt-edged chances when, in the 79th minute, Anelka rolled the ball across goal for him. From two yards out and with an empty net to aim at, Nolan somehow ballooned the ball over the bar.

When he was substituted by Giannakopoulos three minutes later, the Bolton supporters cheered. It was acutely embarrassing, but a reflection of how far the captain has fallen. At least Giannakopoulos brought his shooting boots with him. It was the third time this season that the Greece midfield player has scored a vital late goal for his team after similar heroics against Fulham, in the Carling Cup in September, and Aris Salonika, in the Uefa Cup in November.

“We know Stelios has a knack of getting a goal,” Megson said. “It’s difficult to say we deserved it [the victory] because we played poorly and passed poorly for most of the game. But I think this was the first time we have been fortunate.”

Lots and lots of luck is what Derby could do with.

Bolton Wanderers (4-1-2-3): J Jaaskelainen – J O’Brien, A O’Brien, A Meïté, R Gardner – I Campo – K Nolan (sub: S Giannakopoulos, 82min), D Guthrie – K Davies (sub: C Wilhelmsson, 46), N Anelka, E-H Diouf. Substitutes not used: A Al Habsi, J Samuel, L Michalik. Booked: Davies, O’Brien.

Derby County (4-4-2): L Price – T Mears, D Moore, C Davis, J McEveley (sub: M Johnson, 21) – G Teale (sub: J Macken, 65), M Oakley, G Barnes, E Lewis – K Miller, C Fagan (sub: B Feilhaber, 85). Substitutes not used: B Hinchliffe, L Holmes. Booked: Mears, Fagan, Feilhaber.

Referee: H Webb.