Rob Hulse earned the praise of his manager after marking his return to Derby's starting line-up with two well-taken goals as the Rams halted a three-game losing run with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Coventry at Pride Park.

The big striker, who missed last weekend's defeat at Ipswich through illness, struck twice after the break to usurp the first-half lead given to Coventry by Leon Best.

Strike partner Paul Dickov provided the assists for both goals. His diagonal cross into the box four minutes after the restart was brilliantly cushioned on the chest by Hulse who then flicked the falling ball beyond Dimi Konstantopoulos.

Dickov then retrieved Stephen Pearson's cross to tee-up Hulse for a crisp first-time finish after 62 minutes.

"He went down the Thursday before the Ipswich game and was laid low for about four days but he's trained most of this week and he looked pretty strong," said Derby boss Nigel Clough.

"They were two very good goals. We haven't given him too much service in the last few weeks when he has played, but we did and he looked dangerous all night. As did Paul Dickov, who I'm sure Rob was first to thank for his goals."