Consecutive defeats had seen Spurs hit bottom but Steed Malbranque's early brace and a strike from Jermaine Jenas assured victory before the break. Darren Bent's first goal for the club sealed the win to get Spurs' campaign up and running.

Optimists would argue Spurs are in the same position as this time a year ago when they went on to finish fifth, although they did not face a team as meek as Derby.

The newly-promoted side were crushed in the opening quarter, their stretched defence then losing Tyrone Mears to a calf injury.

After finding chances difficult to take against Sunderland and Everton, Spurs turned it around to have the fans singing for Jol.His unhappiness with the opening week was clear though as he introduced Tom Huddlestone and Wayne Routledge, adding weight and pace to the midfield.

There is still the feeling the problems on the left have not been addressed, but the man filling in at the moment, Malbranque, led the charge.

With less than two minutes gone, Jenas found him on the edge of the area, the Frenchman clipping his effort inside the post. Malbranque doubled the lead in the sixth minute, this time curling into the far corner from just inside the area. It got better in the 14th minute, with Jenas winning the ball then racing towards goal on a 40-yard run that ended with a neat finish off the post. Bent added the fourth by heading in on the goalline.