Norwich piled more pressure on Derby boss John Eustace after thrashing the Championship strugglers 4-0 at Pride Park.
On his 47th birthday, Eustace saw his side ripped apart by the pace and movement of the Canaries, who scored three times before the break.
Anthony Musaba, Paris Maghoma and Darlin Yongwa put Norwich in complete control before substitute Jovon Makama wrapped up a third straight win for the visitors and condemned Derby to a fourth defeat in five games.
Derby have won only once this season and Friday night's home game with Bolton now looks like a huge one for Eustace.
They went into the game as only one of two teams without a home win in the Championship and they fell behind in the eighth minute. Jack Stacey crossed from the right and although Yongwa's header was saved, Musaba slammed the rebound into the roof of the net.
Musaba had a great chance to score his second in the 15th minute when Andre Brooks played him in but his low shot struck the legs of goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.
Norwich looked like scoring every time they came forward and after Zetterstrom made a reflex save to deny Mathias Kvistgaarden, Maghoma made it two with a curling effort from the edge of the box in the 27th minute.
Boos rang out from the home fans and only the woodwork denied Norwich a third when Stacey's shot hit the inside of a post and was cleared off the line by Alex Mowatt.
It got even worse for Derby just before half-time when they were torn apart again and after Brooks fired the ball in from the right, Yongwa made no mistake from 12 yards.
The half-time whistle was met with another chorus of disapproval from the home fans and it was no surprise when Derby made three substitutions for the second half.
Derby at least had an effort on target with a Carlton Morris header forcing Daniel Grimshaw into a diving save and there was certainly more urgency about their play but Norwich were not finished.
Makama came to the party in the 66th minute with a rasping drive from the edge of the area which Zetterstrom could not keep out.
That was the signal for Derby fans to head for the exits and some of those who stayed joined in when Norwich fans taunted Eustace with chants of "sacked in the morning".
It was certainly a miserable night for Eustace and Derby, who even at this early stage look like a team fighting relegation.
The managers
Derby's John Eustace:
"To be in the situation we are now is really disappointing.
"There are reasons why, we've got nine defenders out which certainly doesn't help, but collectively we haven't been good enough and I take responsibility for the performances.
"Ultimately you can make as many excuses as you want with injuries and suspensions but I get judged on results and results haven't been good enough.
"The club is much bigger than me and all the great work we've done over the last 16 months has been something I'm very proud of and not to continue that throughout the summer and up to now has been tough.
"Football is about results and to lose 4-0 at home after losing 4-1 at the weekend is not acceptable and it's my head at the table.
"Of course it hurts, I'm a very proud person but the Championship is relentless, it's ruthless and we have a lot of injuries and we have to respect that fact as well.
"It is very frustrating at the moment but I'm not a quitter and I know we can get more out of the group which is something we will keep trying to do."
Norwich's Philippe Clement:
"I'm really pleased with what the team did, we could have scored more than the four goals and keeping a clean sheet after a long time will also help the team with their confidence.
"The structure of the team is good and I've seen a lot of positives with the guys who started and the guys who came on. That's what I want to see, no complacency and a mature game in controlling it in most of the moments.
"The group knows me for a long time and I've said the message a lot of times, I hate it when people become complacent, I want to see a hungry team full of desire for more and not to be happy with where they are."
