Derby County's dismal run of form in the Championship continued last Saturday as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Birmingham City.

Whilst the Rams' latest slip-up wasn't punished by Rotherham United or Sheffield Wednesday who also lost at the weekend, they simply have to secure a positive result in their upcoming clash with Swansea City in order to ease their fears of relegation.

A victory over the Jacks will kill off the Owls' hopes for survival whilst it will also place a considerable amount of pressure on the Millers who have lost their last four games in all competitions.

Whereas Derby manager Wayne Rooney will be focusing on guiding his side to safety in the coming weeks, an update has emerged concerning his side's future in terms of off-the-field matters.

According to The Athletic, Erik Alonso's takeover agreement does not include a get-out clause which will allow him to abandon his bid if the club are relegated to League One.

The Spanish businessman sealed a deal for the Rams earlier this month and is now waiting to see whether he will pass the EFL's Owners and Directors Test.

Alonso recently revealed that his long-term vision for Derby is to lead the club to the Champions League after securing promotion to the top-flight.

Clearly, these lofty ambitions would be wrecked for the foreseeable future were they to drop into League One next month which is currently a major threat due to the Rams' recent drop-off in performance levels.

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

This is unquestionably good news for Derby as the last thing they would have wanted is Alonso pulling out of a deal after seeing the club drop down to the third-tier of English football.

Having already witnessed a takeover deal involving Sheikh Khaled collapse this season, the Rams' hopes for the future rely on their prospective new owner who is unquestionably very ambitious.

Although Derby have failed to win any of their last five league games, they could take solace in the fact that Swansea have already qualified for the play-offs and thus manager Steve Cooper may opt to make a number changes to his side in order to keep his players fresh for the upcoming knock-out competition.

However, if the Rams fail to deliver the goods once again in the Championship, they may end up suffering yet another defeat which could open the door for Wednesday and Rotherham to move within touching distance of safety.