Newcastle United were promoted back to the Premier League on Monday night after they guaranteed themselves a top two finish in the Championship by beating Preston North End 4-1 at St James’ Park.

The Magpies have joined Brighton and Hove Albion in sealing a spot in the top flight next term but one team that won’t be joining the duo is Derby County.

The Rams were one of the pre-season favourites to be involved in the promotion race under former manager Nigel Pearson but a disappointing spell at the start of the campaign and then again in 2017 under Steve McClaren means they will spend another year at this level.

Gary Rowett was appointed as the club’s third boss of the season in March and despite their underwhelming campaign, he will hope that his team can follow in the footsteps of the Magpies and return to the Premier League for the first time since 2008 next term.

Here are three reasons why Derby County will replicate their Championship rivals.…

They've got Gary Rowett

Even though he was sacked by Birmingham City in December, there is no doubt that Rowett has proven that he is more than capable of winning promotion from the Championship.

The Blues were just three points behind third place when the 43-year-old was dismissed – despite having a smaller budget than many of the teams he was competing against – and it is perhaps no coincidence that they now find themselves in a relegation battle.

He will be determined to prove them wrong with a full pre-season and season in charge of the Rams next term.

They have the players

With the likes of Tom Ince, Will Hughes and David Nugent at his disposal, Rowett knows that he has the squad – with a couple of his own additions during the summer – that can challenge at the top end of the Championship.

There is no doubt that the Rams players have underperformed as a whole this term and they will need to get off to a positive start if they are to compete for promotion next season.

They have a strong defence

Led by captain Richard Keogh, Derby have the sixth-best defensive record in the Championship this season after conceding 48 goals in their 44 league matches, and if the league was decided on that they would be in the play-off positions.

Rowett will know that if his side can perform strongly at the back and he can get his forwards firing on all cylinders and scoring at the other end of the pitch in order to help the team win matches, it will be vital in what is a long and challenging campaign.

Do you agree, Rams fans? Let us know below.