Ipswich, seemingly doomed to the drop at Christmas, sealed their extraordinary drive out of the Premiership relegation zone on Saturday and plunged Derby deeper into the mire at Pride Park.

Marcus Bent put the 'Tractor Boys' on course for their fifth win in six league matches with a 46th-minute opener - and five minutes from time Martijn Reuser hammered home a magnificent 25-yard effort to wrap up all three points.

No team has ever been bottom of the Premiership at Christmas and survived - but the second half rout gave George Burley's men an excellent chance of survival and turned Billy McEwan's first match in charge of Derby into a nightmare.

Bent opened the scoring when he burst through the static Rams rearguard and shrugged off a sloppy challenge from Danny Higginbotham to claim his fifth goal of the season.

His strike made up for a 39th-minute penalty miss by Marcus Stewart, who had stepped up when Horacio Carbonari was penalised for climbing over Bent only to fire his shot against the base of Andy Oakes' left-hand post.

Derby had missed their own spot-kick chance one minute after Bent's opener and how they were left to rue their chance to get back on level terms.

Mark Venus was rather harshly adjudged to have pulled down Fabrizio Ravanelli but Deon Burton's casual penalty was brilliantly saved by Andy Marshall.

It was the Rams' third consecutive failure from the spot after Ravanelli had given up the job following his misses against Newcastle and Liverpool.

Bent turned provider in the 67th minute, taking advantage of an alarming amount of space in the right corner of the box and setting up Sixto Peralta, who also had plenty of time before poking Town's second past Oakes.

Derby, perched second from bottom of the table and facing an increasingly unlikely fight for survival, gave themselves a glimmer of hope 11 minutes from time when Ravanelli's cross from the right was knocked home at close range by Malcolm Christie.

But cool Ipswich responded through Dutchman Reuser's long-range effort which made Derby's fight for survival an increasingly unlikely one.

McEwan had taken no time in stamping his influence on his team, making five changes for their biggest game of the season.

Previous boss Colin Todd's French signings Francois Grenet and Pierre Ducrocq could not even find a place on the bench while Richard Jackson and Simo Valakari returned after long spells on the sidelines.

But Ipswich had the better chances of a dire first period, Peralta poking a ninth minute effort narrowly wide and Reuser somehow steering a six-yard header from Chris Makin's left-wing cross over the bar.

Derby had toiled away in midfield and fashioned few opportunities of their own, Burton heading wide from Jackson's cross and Christie firing a long-range effort over the bar.

Frustration boiled over in injury time as a fan clambered out of the Pride Park stands and attempted to remonstrate with McEwan on the touchline, before being ushered away by police and stewards.

Moments later Derby left the field in hail of boos, their misery complete.

Teams:

Derby: Oakes, Jackson, Riggott, Carbonari (Boertien 69), Higginbotham, Zavagno (Kinkladze 59), Valakari, Burton, Powell, Ravanelli, Christie.

Subs Not Used: Grant, Bolder, Mawene.

Goals: Christie 79.

Ipswich: Marshall, Makin, McGreal, Venus, Hreidarsson, Wright, Holland, Peralta, Reuser (Clapham 88), Stewart (Naylor 84), Marcus Bent (Armstrong 90).

Subs Not Used: Sereni, Bramble.

Booked: Hreidarsson, Reuser.

Goals: Marcus Bent 47, Peralta 67, Reuser 87.

Att: 29,658

Ref: P Durkin (Dorset).