Malcolm Christie's eighth-minute goal was all that separated these two relegation rivals after 90 dreadfully dull minutes at Pride Park.

Christie's effort, squirted through a crowded box after Craig Burley's initial effort had been blocked by Coventry keeper Magnus Hedman, allowed the Rams to leapfrog back above the Sky Blues and out of the relegation zone.

But, on the evidence of this long slog in the east Midlands deep-freeze, neither of these sides seem likely to be spared a winter of discontent.

Christie's early goal was his eighth of the season and came after England new boy Seth Johnson had already seen a curling right-foot shot well saved by Hedman.

It ought to have settled the Rams' nerves as they aimed to bounce back from last week's 4-1 thrashing at Chelsea.

But instead it provoked a dour, rearguard action which Gordon Strachan's men, for all their territorial possession, failed to exploit.

David Thompson came closest when he lobbed an audacious shot over Mart Poom but onto the top of the net eight minutes before half-time.

And Moroccan international Youssef Chippo almost grabbed a point with one minute left when his low 20-yard effort wriggled through a crowded box and forced a good save from Poom.

But the Rams' three-man central defence coped well with the lightweight efforts of John Aloisi and Mustapha Hadji, who was guilty of an outrageous miss after 65 minutes when he fired Craig Bellamy's cross more than 10 yards wide.

Bellamy was the bright spot for Coventry - increasingly their only source of inspiration with his mazy runs down the right flank.

But all too often his fellow front men were found wanting in the penalty box when his cross arrived.

Instead it was the Rams who had the more clear-cut chances to increase their goal tally.

On the half-hour Christie turned provider as he whipped in a fine cross from the right flank which his strike partner Rory Delap stumbled upon in front of an open goal and the ball trundled into a relieved Hedman's hands.

Moments before the break a rare piece of wizardry from Stefano Eranio temporarily presented the Rams with a two-on-one chance - but Christie and Delap were both beaten to the ball by the impressive Gary Breen in the visitors' defence.

After the interval, as the cold snap worsened, so the fare nosedived. The frustrations of both sides boiled over with ex-Ram Paul Williams booked for fouling Eranio and eventually pulled off as a precautionary measure by Strachan.

Hadji's glaring miss proved to be Coventry's last throw of the dice while the Rams came close again when Christie's cross-shot from the right was palmed out by Hedman and substitute Deon Burton - lurking almost on the goalline - failed to get the touch which would have ended the contest.

Chippo almost made the Rams pay at the death as the Sky Blues staged their final assaults, roared on by Strachan on the bench.

Referee Matt Messias' final whistle brought sighs of relief all round from the home fans - but the feeling is the battle for both of these teams is only just beginning.

Teams

Derby: Poom, Delap, West, Carbonari, Martin (Burton 60), Riggott, Powell, Burley, Johnson, Eranio (Murray 78), Christie (Morris 90).

Subs Not Used: Oakes, Higginbotham.

Booked: Christie.

Goals: Christie 9.

Coventry: Hedman, Breen, Quinn, Williams (Chippo 80), Konjic, Thompson (Eustace 84), Telfer, Carsley, Hadji, Aloisi (Roussel 60), Bellamy.

Subs Not Used: Kirkland, Guerrero.

Booked: Quinn, Williams, Carsley.

Att: 27,869

Ref: M Messias (York).