Derby fans march in their thousands as Birmingham show support amid extinction fears

Thousands of Derby fans have marched to Pride Park as they bid to save the club from extinction.

Rams supporters were joined by Birmingham fans as they gathered en masse to protest ahead of the pair's Championship clash on Sunday in a desperate attempt to raise more awareness of the club's plight.

Wayne Rooney 's side have been in administration since September and face the daunting prospect of going bust should they fail to find a new owner.

Derby have already been docked 21 points so far this season to compound matters, but the club's faithful came out in force on Sunday prior to kick-off having sold out Pride Park for the first time since early 2020.

Rams fans gathered in the Market Place near the Assembly Rooms at 11.30am, two hours ahead of kick-off and made their way through the city towards the stadium, with police closing a number of roads.

Footage showed supporters holding banners, waving flags and chanting raucously as part of the protest in a valiant message to potential purchasers.

One particularly prominent banner proudly read: "A founder member of the Football League with 138 years history of football heritage #SaveDerbyCounty."

According to the Derbyshire Telegraph, a number of meetings have taken place within the last week in order to discuss the future of the club, which faces the threat of liquidation if a takeover deal cannot be reached.

The Championship outfit have reportedly been the subject of three bids so far with the Binnie Brothers, former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley and a consortium including former Rams chairman Andy Appleby said to be interested.

Administrators Quantuma and the English Football League released a joint statement this week revealing that "a month-long