UNLESS Derby can somehow take an average of a point a game from their final four matches they will officially be tagged the worst team in Premier League history. Sad to say, following another one-sided defeat to a grateful Aston Villa, it will be an accurate epitaph of their disastrous one-season stay back among the elite.

The bare statistics of a league-record 28 games since their one and only victory tell some of the story, and the type of abject performance they turned in here yesterday fills in the gaps as they conceded six goals for the third time this season.

After falling behind in the 24th-minute to an Ashley Young goal they should never have conceded, Derby played without purpose, pride or passion, never mind ability. If Villa secure European qualification by a narrow margin at the end of the season their rivals in the race could order a stewards’ inquiry under the non-triers rule.

Villa barely had to extend themselves but did what they had to ruthlessly enough and, on an afternoon of shooting practice that saw six different players on the scoresheet, the honours went to Stiliyan Petrov for the pick of the goals, a stunning long-range effort midway through the rout.

“As soon as we face adversity we collapse like a pack of cards,” admitted Derby’s manager, Paul Jewell. “This season has gone as far as we are concerned but we can’t lie down and die like we did today. That’s not acceptable.”

Perversely, Derby actually started well enough as they played with the freedom of a side long since resigned to their fate thanks in no small part to the influence of Hossam Ghaly. The on-loan Tottenham midfielder is perhaps less shell-shocked than his colleagues, having only signed in January, and looked the game’s most creative force during the opening quarter until Derby’s defence cracked again and normal service was swiftly resumed.

Goalkeeper Roy Carroll, who should have asked for danger money when signing from Rangers during the mid-season transfer window, was distracted by Olof Mellberg’s jump and allowed a speculative free kick from Young to sail directly into his net.

Sixty seconds later Carroll could only clear a Gareth Barry cross straight to John Carew, who blasted it back past him, possibly via a touch off Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was standing in an offside position.

If Villa had a lucky break there they clearly didn’t need it and, 10 minutes before the break, Petrov magnificently punished Carroll’s poor kick-out as he drove the ball over the retreating keeper from 45 yards.

In restricting Everton, Middlesbrough and Manchester United to single-goal wins in recent weeks, Derby had at least shown a measure of resistance, but there was no sign of that yesterday and their second-half capitulation was humiliating, with a lack of confidence only the smallest mitigating factor.

This time Carroll was blameless as he saved well from Barry and then Agbonlahor, but the Villa captain tapped in the fourth 13 minutes into the second period. Derby’s defence then went AWOL again as Agbonlahor further embellished a season that has brought him and teammate Young nominations for the PFA young player of the year award by steering in his ninth goal of the campaign via a post.

Substitute striker Marlon Harewood completed the destruction when he rolled home the sixth from a Patrick Berger pass as Villa confirmed their return to form by making it 10 goals without reply in the space of eight days. The three points gained maintain their slim hopes of a late dash for fifth place and a Uefa Cup spot next season.

“We have got a task to catch Everton,” said Villa manager Martin O’Neill in the aftermath. “But we have still got to go there and we must win every game. We have got the capabilities and we certainly have the goal power.” And don’t Derby know it.

Star man: Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa)

Player ratings. Derby: Carroll 3, Todd 4 (Earnshaw 54min, 4), Moore 4 (Leacock 54min, 4), Stubbs 4, Lewis 5, Mears 4, Savage 4, Ghaly 7, Jones 4 (McEveley 59min, 4), Villa 4, Miller 5
Aston Villa: Carson 6, Mellberg 6, Knight 6, Laursen 6, Bouma 6, Young 7 (Berger 80min), Reo-Coker 6, Petrov 8, Barry 7 (Salifou 80min), Agbonlahor 6, Carew 7 (Harewood 73min)

Scorers: Aston Villa: Young 25, Carew 26, Petrov 36, Barry 58, Agbonlahor 76, Harewood 85

Referee: K Stroud

Attendance: 33,006