Santa Cruz took his tally for his first season in English football to 23 by reacting brilliantly to Morten Gamst Pedersen's deflected effort in first-half injury time, then nodding home a far-post header in the second period.

Hughes admitted his £3.5million summer swoop to bring Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich had been a gamble with a series of injuries hindering the player during an unexceptional eight-year spell in Germany.

But Santa Cruz - who was awarded the club's player of the year trophy before kick-off - proved his worth once again and prompted Hughes to insist: "Roque is the best I've seen at anticipating things coming off the keeper or the bar.

"He's always on the front foot and if a striker's got that it's a sure sign you've got a natural finisher at the club. It is not just about Roque's goals but also about his tremendous work ethic.

"Roque has had an outstanding first season and has probably surpassed even his own expectations. In truth I always knew he was an exceptionally talented player but with his past record he may have been seen by many as a risk.

"But I knew if he got run and stayed clear of injuries and got off the mark early, that was going to help him, and Roque has been exceptional for us throughout the season."

Santa Cruz's killer instinct wrecked the Rams' hope of keeping alive their chances of beating Sunderland's previous record low Premier League total of 15 points, and left boss Paul Jewell still looking for his first win after 25 games in charge.

Jewell's side had started brightly and after chances for Tyrone Mears and Robert Earnshaw, took a shock 19th minute lead when Kenny Miller sprung the Rovers offside trap to race clear and shoot low under Brad Friedel.

But Jewell was left to rue his side's inability to hold onto their lead, and ultimately they would be fortunate not to lose by more. Yet the Rams boss sought to shrug off the unwanted historical tag and look to the future.

"It is deserved," said Jewell of the record low points total. "We haven't got there because of bad luck. But my only aim now is to bring Derby back as one of the best Championship sides there has ever been and this will be forgotten.

"There has to be a whole culture change. We have to be mentally stronger as well as physically stronger and that's what we have to do between now and June 27.

"I've got to chop and change and whatever I can generate I can put back into the players. But I'm comfortable with the budget and the amount of manoeuvring I can do."

Rovers responded well with David Bentley sending an audacious lob onto the roof of the net and Chris Samba heading straight at Roy Carroll before Santa Cruz reacted well to poke home the equaliser just before the break.

Just two minutes into the second half the Rams defence collapsed again and Andy Todd's mistake played in Santa Cruz's striking team-mate Jason Roberts, who played the ball under Carroll to give his side the lead.

Carroll had to be in top form to deny further goals from both Roberts and Santa Cruz as Derby lost their grip on the game. The inevitable third arrived in the 77th minute when Santa Cruz stooped to head home Bentley's cross.

Victory means Rovers head into their final game of the season at Birmingham next week still in the hunt for an Intertoto Cup place and Hughes paid tribute to his players' ability to keep their season on track.

"It's fantastic that we've been able to take our season right to the 38th game," said Hughes. "We've never been out of the top 10 all season and I think for a club of our size that is a huge achievement."

Irrespective of Rovers' final finishing position Hughes will spend the summer seeking to build on his side's improvement this season but admits that even with financial backing it will prove a tough test.

He added: "Realistically to get in the top four takes an exceptional amount of money and that is beyond us at this present time. But I'll have funds and every penny we make will be ploughed back into the team."