Derby manager George Burley will step up his hunt for new players this week or next week after Stoke cruised to victory in a one-sided game at Pride Park.
Burley saw his inexperienced team taken apart by a Stoke side that had six players making their debuts.
It was never a contest after Stoke scored twice in the first 20 minutes and Burley knows the size of the task facing him.
He said: "We knew the game would provide a big physical challenge and that proved to be the case.
"I said all along we need to strengthen the squad because we have no physical presence and we will be working very hard to bring in one or two more experienced players before next Saturday."Stoke manager Tony Pulis is also on the lookout for new faces despite this outstanding result.
He said: "This is a terrific result but it is only the first day of the season. Most of the team are young players so we have to bring in a bit more experience and we are hoping to do that in the couple of weeks."Stoke made a mockery of their pre-season rating as relegation candidates as they out-muscled Derby with strikers Carl Asaba and Gifton Noel-Williams terrorising Derby's defence.
New signing Gary Caldwell must have wondered what he had let himself in for as Stoke caused havoc by knocking long balls into the home defence.
Noel-Williams opened the scoring when Keith Andrews crossed from the left touchline after a clever backheel from Asaba.
The former Sheffield United striker set up the second when he easily turned Caldwell and squared the ball for Chris Greenacre to drive a low right-foot shot in from 12 yards.
Asaba was close to scoring himself at the end of the first half and Stoke continued to pose problems in the second as Derby again looked well short of ideas.
The home side did not get a shot on target until the 57th minute, but there was no sign of a revival and Asaba was close again with a header in the 65th minute.
The game was already over by the time Stoke scored their third with substitutes Chris Iwelumo and Lewis Neal combining in injury time with Neal volleying into the roof of the net from six yards.