ROBBIE Savage insists he does not regret leaving Blackburn Rovers for Derby County - even though he is about get relegated with the worst team in Premier League history.

The former Wales international, who returns to Ewood Park tomorrow for the first time since his January move to the Rams, has had a traumatic first three months at his new club, culminating in demotion to the Championship.

Struggling for form and fitness, there was even a point when Savage feared his legs had gone, and he began to question whether he could still cut it at the highest level.

But, after gradually winning over the Derby faithful, the 33-year-old is now beginning to feel more like his old self again, and he is confident he is the man to lead the Rams back into the Premier League next term.

Looking back on his first couple of months as a Derby player, Savage said: "After the first seven or eight matches, I honestly thought my legs had gone.

"I wasn't fit, I wasn't playing well, and I was getting stick off the Derby fans.

"When they read my name out before the Manchester United game, I got booed by my own supporters and that was a real shock to the system because it was the first time it had ever happened to me.

"But after 65 minutes of that game the Derby fans then started singing my name for the first time, so I must have won them over with my performance.

"Since then, I feel as though I've played quite well and I'm probably getting back to something like my best again.

"But I won't deny that was a difficult time and I really began to question myself.

"To be honest, I was embarrassed because I felt as though I was letting the manager and the chairman down.

"They'd paid good money to bring me to Derby and I felt as though I wasn't repaying them."

Aside from some indifferent performances, Derby's newly-appointed captain also came under attack in the national press for rolling up to training in a new £160,000 Mercedes, just days after manager Paul Jewell had slaughtered the players following an abject performance against Wigan.

One club insider' was so incensed he told the Daily Mail: "We're bottom of the table with nine points, he (Savage) hasn't had a decent game since he's been here, and he's swanning around in that thing."

Jewell quickly dismissed that remark, branding the insider as gutless', but for Savage it was another dent to his already fragile confidence.

"That kind of thing only happens to me, but it did upset me at the time because I didn't know where it had come from," he said.

"However, it also spurred me on because things like that make me even more determined than ever to prove people wrong."

It is a measure of just how poor Derby have been that Savage is still waiting to collect his first win bonus, almost four months after arriving at Pride Park.

But, while that might be a sad indictment of the Rams' current plight, Savage insists he and his team-mates must look to the future now, and that means trying to emulate the Blackburn model'.

"I've been very impressed with the gaffer here," said Savage.

"He's well into all the ProZone stuff, just like Mark Hughes was at Blackburn.

"Since he's come in, our stats have improved by around 15 kilometres a game, and he's trying to create the same kind of work ethic that Blackburn have because that gives you the base to go out and get results.

"To be honest, Derby is a huge club, with fantastic facilities, and a great training ground on a par with Blackburn's.

"All that's missing is success on the field and we hope to start putting that right next season.

"We need to bounce straight back and then look at a club like Blackburn as our model.

"For me, they are the best run club outside of the top four.

"They got relegated from the Premier League but then came back up, managed to stay up, and now they've kicked on again.

"That's why I think every aspiring club should be looking to follow the Blackburn model."

In the meantime, Savage's more immediate focus is on getting the four points Derby need to avoid being dubbed the worst ever Premier League team.

"To be honest, we can't wait for this season to end because we want to look forward to next season.

"But we've still got two games left and it's important we try to win both, not just to get past 15 points, but so we can take something positive into next season."