Dave Jones hailed the part played by comeback hero Stephen McPhail in Michael Chopra's four-goal display against Derby. McPhail displayed stunning form after returning from a three-match ban imposed for a straight red in the 1-0 victory at Reading.

And manager Jones said: "Stevie was involved in just about everything tonight. Just because he's not a kicker or a head butter, he's not liked by certain people. But he's a top, top player."

Now Dave is looking for even more from his team after they wiped away the memory of a recent bad run with a 6-1 victory.

He said: "I worked overtime on the line, chivvying and shouting at my players to get into position. It's a good thing I wasn't playing or there'd be a few finger matrks round some people's necks."

He also spoke of his exasperation at Jay Bothroyd, who was late out for the second half, saying: "If I'd had a centre half on the bench, I'd have subbed him! But tonight's performance was well overdue. We are capable of being a force in this division. I'd have been happy with 2-1 or 3-1. I know what it feels like to be on the end of a real beating.

"From our point of view, you don't get results like that often, so we'll enjoy it while we can. I'll enjoy it tonight, my staff will enjoy it tonight, but it's back to the grindstone tomorrow. We are going good game, bad game, and we need consistency.

"There's a problem in that a lot of people seem to want change. They need to remember that when we sell a £5million player, we get one in for £200,000, then it takes time to turn the new guy into a £5million player. That's what happened with Roger Johnson. We take a step back by selling our best player, and then we move on. This club is work in progress. I hear people say change it, get rid of this or that player, but they should step back and think about what's going on at this football club."

Commenting on Chopra's supershow, Dave said: "His movement was superb. But I want to point out that we didn't pay £4million for him. We paid a lot, an awful lot for this club - and now he's repaying us with goals."

Dave also revealed that Cardiff's firepower could be strengthened soon with the return of hamstring injury victim Ross McCormack, who could be fit to play within 10 days, which means he will ready after the two-week international break which starts after Saturday's match at Watford.

"We'll be stronger when we get him back, and we also hope to have Kevin McNaughton and Warren Feeney in action soon."